Russian esports organisation Virtus.pro has renewed its partnership with HAVAL, an automobile manufacturer owned by Great Wall Motors.
According to a release, the extension will see HAVAL become a partner of all Virtus.pro’s first team rosters. Additionally, HAVAL will continue supporting live esport event coverage for Russian and CIS audiences.
Image credit: Virtus.pro / Haval
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The partnership between Virtus.pro and HAVAL first started in 2020, when the automotive brand was named the official sponsor of Virtus.pro Dota 2 roster. Today’s extension strengthens the partnership, with Haval now becoming a partner of all of Virtus.pro’ first team rosters, not just its Dota 2 roster.
Sergey Glamazda, CEO of Virtus.pro, said: “Both Virtus.pro and HAVAL are results-oriented enterprises that aren’t afraid of taking chances every now and then. That is why we are so delighted to see the growth in brand recognition for HAVAL among esports fans. Some of our supporters are already proud owners of HAVAL cars, which leads me to believe that we are moving in the right direction.
It’s no coincidence that we are expanding our partnership now. We are already working on a lot of interesting new projects and HAVAL is the partner we want to go forward with.”
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The original partnership with Virtus.pro was the first foray into esports by HAVAL, and the brands have been expanding the partnership since.
HAVAL additionally struck a partnership with Epic Esports Events for the second season of the EPIC League in Dota 2 in November 2020.
Esports Insider says: HAVAL is not a well-known brand in the West, but its parent company Great Wall is one of the largest in China. HAVAL is taking small steps in increasing its investment into esports, and it’s wise to start with the Russian market, a market HAVAL is particularly targeted.