Bud Light moves into esports with All-Star player campaign
(Image: Bud Light)
Bud Light is looking for some esports athletes.
On Monday, the beermeisters announced that they would be joining the 21st century of sports entertainment by starting their first ever esports program. The program takes a similar approach to that of Red Bull, where individual esports pros will be highlighted and promoted.
“Bud Light has always been the beer that sports fans – regardless of what they’re watching – reach for and enjoy together,” said Bud Light vice president Alex Lambrecht. “Esports is a new and exciting frontier for us and we’re looking forward to providing another opportunity to bring fans around the country together to cheer for their favorite athlete.”
At the upcoming Dreamhack Austin event, Bud Light will unveil the full list of possible professional players from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm. From this list, fans will vote for their five favorite players; the top vote-getters will be revealed on Twitch at the E3 expo in mid-June.
These five players will function as brand representatives at various esports events throughout the summer, though they’ll also stream games under the Bud Light banner. Bud Light also announced plans for a behind-the-scenes video series developed by Machinima to showcase just what it takes to be a professional player.
This will all culminate in a contest held at Twitchcon 2016 in October, where the five pros will compete in a triple-elimination tournament to decide “which All-Star will have risen above the rest.” How exactly they will determine that when the players play different games remains to be seen.
Dylan Walker is on Twitter @dyluuxx.
