ESL Gaming unveils Norton partnership

Norton aims to inspire casual gamers, esports fans and professional players to take proactive steps to protect themselves when gaming online.

Norton Gaming, Image credit: Twitter
By Amruth Kalidas | Oct 19, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Tournament organiser ESL Gaming has named cybersecurity software company Norton as its official cyber safety partner for StarCraft II and Warcraft III’s ESL Pro Tour. The deal will see Norton collaborate with ESL Gaming on brand integrations, custom streams via Norton Gaming’s Twitch channel, as well as special giveaways during broadcasts and on social media. 

NORTON WILL HELP DEAL WITH CYBER THREATS

The partnership will be in effect for the remainder of 2021. Moreover, the collaboration will also cover DreamHack SC2 Masters Winter 2021 and DreamHack WC3 Championship 2021.

Shaun Clark, Director ESL Pro Tour at ESL Gaming, spoke on the announcement in a release: “We are thrilled to welcome Norton Gaming to the ESL family. Working together with a brand that is already a fan of the games, their communities and our tournaments is perfect. 

“We’ve already seen the positive reactions as viewers welcomed Norton Gaming during our latest tournaments and we couldn’t be happier to be partnered for the rest of the year.”

According to the release, the partnership aims to inspire casual gamers, esports fans and professional players worldwide to take proactive steps to protect themselves when gaming online.

Throughout 2021, ESL Gaming has secured a wide range of partnerships including agreements with Israeli mobile video game developer Plarium and cryptocurrency platform Coinbase.

Given the importance of cybersecurity in an industry that exists almost entirely in virtual, esports deals with cybersecurity companies are still quite rare. Norton is the creator of one of the most recognisable anti-viruses available, so bringing the company into esports is a great move.

World Esports Cup to see gamers from India, Pakistan and Nepal compete in South East Asia’s Premier Championship

World Esports Cup (WEC’21), South East Asia’s tri-nation esports tournament will be played between gamers from India, Pakistan and Nepal. The primary goal of the World Esports Cup will be to give gamers a chance to represent one’s own country, something not everyone gets to do quite often in the esports community in the South Asia region in one of the most popular Battle Royale games. The tournament will see a massive prize pool of $100k (INR 75 lakhs approx). Smartphone maker Infinix Smartphones is the title sponsor for the inaugural edition as the registration of WEC’21 will begin on Saturday, 23rd October 2021. Athletes from across the three regions can register themselves till November 23.

Esports athletes from India, Pakistan and Nepal will get the opportunity to compete virtually in open qualifiers to take a shot at becoming the champion of the region.

While talking about the launch of World Esports Cup (WEC), WEC Director, Vishwalok Nath said: “We all know how intense it becomes when it comes to any India-Pakistan match and we want fans to witness this epic clash in esports as well. The World Esports Cup will also aim to connect the gamers and gaming community from the South Asian Countries in one platform which will be a first of its kind initiative.”