International esports organisation T1 Entertainment & Sports has signed a deal with CAA Sports, a division of entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency.
The deal will see CAA Sports represent the organisation for sponsorships and endorsements. In addition, CAA Sports has signed T1’s Korean star player Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok.
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This is not the first time CAA Sports and Creative Artists Agency have entered the esports industry. Last year, the agency teamed up with North American organisation 100 Thieves. CAA Sports has also delivered global and regional brand partnerships for Riot Games’ League of Legends and VALORANT titles.
Despite being founded in North America, T1 is best known for its Korean League of Legends team. T1 has secured three World Championships and 10 LKC titles in League of Legends, all of which Sang-hyeok has been a factor in.
T1 also fields competitive rosters in VALORANT, Dota 2 and Super Smash Bros.
Joe Marsh, CEO of T1 Entertainment & Sports, commented: “CAA Sports has a long history of supporting and growing the careers of iconic athletes and brands. As T1 continues to break records and dominate across the industry as a global leader in esports, we are looking forward to joining forces with the greatest sales organisation in the world.
“We look forward to continuing building upon our blue-chip roster of partners and building a long-lasting partnership with CAA Sports.”
T1’s ever-expanding commercial portfolio currently consists of BMW, Red Bull, Nike, Secretlab and Razer, among others.
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According to a release, CAA Sports represents more than 2,000 athletes across a multitude of sports, including baseball, American football, hockey, basketball, and combat sports.
Esports Insider says: Given CAA Sports’ success with Riot Games, this could potentially be a huge commercial move for T1. Going by Marsh’s comments, the organisation seems to be emphasising a global brand approach, which should provide more opportunities. Given that T1 already has an impressive list of partners, it’ll be interesting to see what other brands join focus with the organisation due to this agreement.
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