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Documents about Liquid
Team Liquid Partners With Sunderland AFC for ePremier League
Team Liquid and English football club Sunderland AFC have entered into a strategic partnership to compete in the eighth season of the ePremier League, an esports tournament circuit centered on the EA Sports FC title.
- Team Liquid and English football club Sunderland AFC have formed a partnership to compete together in the EA Sports FC ePremier League.
- Team Liquid players Paulo Neto and Gabriel “Young” Freitas will represent both organizations during the tournament circuit.
- The ePremier League's eighth season begins on February 28, 2026, featuring a group stage with 40 players from 20 teams competing in a round-robin format.
🚨📢 BREAKING NEWS: 2026 State of Gaming Marketing, Turkish studio raises big, Meta shuts studios
The 2026 gaming landscape is defined by rapid consolidation, a surge in creative output, and a strategic shift toward monetization efficiency.
- Global user acquisition spending reached $25 billion in 2026, with Turkey and India now capturing one-third of all UA expenditure outside of China.
- Top advertisers increased creative volume by 30% year-over-year, producing 2,400 to 2,600 variations per quarter to combat a market where ad impressions grew twice as fast as paid installs.
- Meta has shuttered three VR studios—Saru Games, Twisted Pixel Games, and Armatur Studio—as the company pivots its strategic focus from the metaverse toward wearable technology.
State of India Mobile App Market 2026
India has solidified its position as the world’s largest mobile app market by volume, recording 25 billion annual downloads.
- India is the world's largest mobile app market by volume, reaching 25 billion annual downloads.
- Market growth is shifting from pure user acquisition to a value-driven model focused on retention and high-frequency usage in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
- Food and dining apps have seen a 55% year-over-year surge in time spent, driven by the convergence of quick-commerce and rapid-fulfillment platforms.
Esports World Cup Foundation Club Partner Program
The Esports World Cup Foundation has officially opened applications for its 2026 Club Partner Program, a government-funded initiative designed to incentivize international esports organizations.
- The Esports World Cup Foundation has opened applications for its 2026 Club Partner Program, which provides a total of $20 million USD in financial incentives to participating organizations.
- The 2026 program will expand to support 40 international esports organizations, an increase from the 30 clubs selected for the 2025 iteration.
- Eight organizations have already received direct invites for 2026 based on their 2025 performance: Team Falcons, Team Liquid, Team Vitality, Twisted Minds, Virtus.pro, AG.AL, Gen.G Esports, and Weibo Gaming.
Layoffs Hit G2 Esports, 100 Thieves, and Team Liquid
In early September 2025, three prominent esports organizations—G2 Esports, 100 Thieves, and Team Liquid—implemented workforce reductions as part of a broader trend of restructuring within the competitive gaming industry.
- Team Liquid laid off approximately 6% of its global workforce of over 300 employees in early September 2025 as part of a company-wide restructuring.
- The Team Liquid layoffs primarily impacted staff within the organization's Brand, Marketing, and Content departments.
- G2 Esports and 100 Thieves also implemented staff reductions in early September 2025, though both organizations have not publicly disclosed the scale or scope of these cuts.
BLAST Signs Three-Year Deal With Chengdu Broadcasting Group Corporation
UK-based esports tournament organizer BLAST has entered into a three-year strategic partnership with the state-owned Chengdu Broadcasting Group Corporation (CBC).
- BLAST has signed a three-year strategic partnership with the state-owned Chengdu Broadcasting Group Corporation (CBC) to host esports events in China.
- The inaugural event under this partnership is the $1 million USD BLAST Dota 2 Slam, scheduled to take place in Chengdu from November 25 to December 7, 2025.
- The grand final of the BLAST Dota 2 Slam will be held at the Chengdu Fenghuangshan Sports Park Gymnasium, a venue with a seating capacity of up to 18,000.
Shikenso Analytics Extends FURIA Partnership for Two Years
Brazilian esports organization FURIA has extended its partnership with AI-powered sponsorship analytics provider Shikenso Analytics for an additional two years.
- Brazilian esports organization FURIA has renewed its partnership with AI-powered analytics provider Shikenso Analytics for an additional two years.
- The agreement focuses on utilizing Shikenso’s technology to track, measure, and optimize sponsor visibility across digital platforms, including Twitch and YouTube.
- FURIA’s CMO, Pedro Lopes, stated that the partnership is essential for providing transparent data on partner ROI and identifying new growth opportunities.
Honda Drops Team Liquid Partnership
Honda has officially terminated its six-year partnership with the international esports organization Team Liquid.
- Honda has terminated its six-year partnership with esports organization Team Liquid following a controversial social media post by a professional player.
- On May 13, 2025, Team Liquid Rainbow Six Siege player Lucas Dias posted a GIF of a nuclear mushroom cloud directed at Japanese organization CAG Osaka after a tournament loss.
- Team Liquid has fined Dias four months of pay and mandated re-training for all players and coaches across every game title to prevent future incidents.
Fnatic Renews Partnership With Shikenso Analytics
UK-based esports organization FNATIC has renewed its partnership with Germany-based Shikenso Analytics for an additional year.
- UK-based esports organization FNATIC has renewed its partnership with Germany-based Shikenso Analytics for an additional year.
- Shikenso Analytics will continue to provide AI-driven media valuation and sponsorship tracking tools to help FNATIC evaluate the performance of its brand deals.
- The data provided by Shikenso will be used to monitor sponsorship performance across FNATIC's competitive rosters, including Valorant, Apex Legends, Counter-Strike 2, and League of Legends.
Team Liquid Acquires Team Gullit
Team Liquid has officially acquired the Dutch EA FC esports organization Team Gullit, founded by Ruud Gullit and Schalk Stalman.
- Team Liquid has acquired the Dutch EA FC esports club Team Gullit, with the team officially transitioning to the Team Liquid brand.
- Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed by either organization.
- Team Gullit co-founder Corné Dubelaar will step down from daily operations of the EA FC team but will remain as an advisor to Team Liquid.
Shikenso Analytics Partners With Alliance
Shikenso Analytics, a Germany-based firm specializing in sponsorship evaluation, has entered into a partnership with the Sweden-based esports organization Alliance.
- Esports organization Alliance has partnered with Germany-based Shikenso Analytics to evaluate and quantify the performance of its brand partnerships.
- Shikenso will provide Alliance with AI-driven media valuation services across live streams, social media, and other digital platforms.
- The analytics toolkit utilized in the partnership includes image recognition, audience analysis, audio/voice tracking, and text sentiment analysis.
BLAST Partners With Alienware for BLAST.tv Austin Major
BLAST has secured a global sponsorship agreement with Dell-owned PC brand Alienware for the upcoming BLAST.tv Austin Major.
- Alienware has signed on as a global sponsor for the BLAST.tv Austin Major, serving as the official PC, laptop, and monitor provider.
- The BLAST.tv Austin Major is scheduled for June 19–22, 2025, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, and is already sold out.
- The tournament features a total prize pool of $1.25 million USD, with 32 teams competing across three stages.