ONE Championship is getting into the eSports game, with a fifty million dollar investment, and Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson as a brand ambassador.
In a press release Tuesday, ONE Championship announced that they would be launching an eSports brand. Competitive gaming has become a multi-billion dollar business in a relatively short period of time, and it’s taken most seriously in European and Asian markets. ONE is set to get in on that action, and they’re leveraging Demetrious Johnson to do it.
Per Tuesday’s release,
“The largest global sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship (ONE), has officially launched ONE eSports, Asia’s largest global eSports Championship Series. ONE Championship and Dentsu Inc., Japan’s largest global advertising agency, have agreed to launch ONE eSports as a joint venture together in 2019. Razer, Singtel, and other top industry players have also entered into partnership MOUs with ONE eSports to lead Asia’s eSports industry together.”
ONE would also go to announce that Demetrious Johnson would be the Chief Brand Ambassador. The company believes that his notoriety as a champion combined with his passion as a gamer would be a great asset in this new venture.
“Also, recently-signed ONE Championship athlete and pound-for-pound mixed martial arts king Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson will help to lead the ONE eSports efforts as its Chief Brand Ambassador; he is a lifelong gamer and well-known Twitch streamer with a rabid following,” the release stated.
ONE isn’t the only MMA league with an eSports affiliation. The UFC’s parent company, WME; owns ELeague. Since the purchase, WME has used various fighters and Dana White to cross promote the UFC with various eSports events and personalities. But Johnson was consistently overlooked when these opportunities came up. ONE on the other hand seeks to make the most out of their newest signee, which makes sense.
Stay tuned, as we’ll keep you posted as more details come out about the league as well as any future fight announcements for Johnson or fellow new signee Eddie Alvarez.
