FTX becomes an official partner of LCS

The League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) has named FTX as its Official Crypto Exchange Partner, representing Riot's largest sponsorship deal to date.

As part of the seven-year partnership, FTX will unveil a new "Best Player" award, while FTX branding will be added to in-game gold in all LCS matches. The financial terms of the partnership agreement were not disclosed. Riot explained this partnership on an official blog, citing consumer interest.

“At the forefront of every LCS partnership, we address the feelings and interests of our fans. This data informs our decision making process strongly, helping us to hone partners who are relevant to our audience and can elevate LCS for years to come. These metrics indicated a direct interest in a cryptocurrency category where FTX stands out as an innovative, thoughtful leader in a space our fans understand. Together we have just begun to take advantage of our advantage, " Riot said.

The deal immediately surprised the esports community as the announcement came just months after LCS rejected TSM's FTX branding. Some sources said that as part of the deal, Riot will be able to remove branding from assets on relevant international broadcasts, where cryptocurrencies are under strict regulation.

In contrast, editing physical assets like the logos on a TSM T-shirt isn't as believable.

Fans will start seeing FTX branding on all LCS broadcasts this weekend. Kriptovalyutnaya Exchange debuted in eSports in June with its partnership TSM.