As the end closes in on a busy and very turbulent year, both in esports and beyond, 2024 will certainly leave a mark.
From sadly saying goodbye to some notable industry names, to welcoming in major ecosystem overhauls and celebrating new viewership records, much has happened in 2024.
While it may seem like a distant memory, early in the year, major changes occurred to Activision Blizzard’s esports leagues. The franchised Overwatch League was scrapped and replaced, while the Call of Duty League survived but saw franchise fee payments eliminated, a sign of a major switch-up in the publisher’s esports approach.
Deciding it was time for its own changes, Riot Games announced in March a shakeup to League of Legends esports’ franchise business model, aiming to reduce its reliance on sponsorships and instead leverage in-game item sales to generate revenue for teams in its leagues.
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Esports later received a boost of legitimacy in June after the Olympics’ organising body IOC declared it would launch an official Olympic Esports Games, which could potentially be a boon to national esports bodies and stakeholders.
Then came the unavoidable Esports World Cup and its monumental $60m prize pool, playing out over two months with varying viewership. Speaking of viewership, this year the League of Legends World Championship smashed esports’ all-time viewership record with a peak concurrent viewing figure of almost 7m.
Throughout the year, the competitive landscape also saw major shifts as teams merged and partnerships were formed. Most notably, FaZe Clan changed hands resulting in Complexity also being sold. OverActive Media created a Spanish powerhouse, buying KOI and Movistar Riders and merging it with MAD Lions, while GIANTX also saw the light of day, the result of a merger between EXCEL and Giants.
Amidst it all, esports and sports betting brand GG.BET has seen one of its busiest years yet in esports, and is showing no signs of slowing down. The international brand has profited off the growth in interest in esports, and the sheer amount of activity that went on in 2024 — and has used it as an opportunity to double down.
GG.BET highlighted its achievements this year in an end-of-year recap video summarising the brand’s most impressive creative achievements.
Esports Insider sat down with the company to pick over its year to date and the key milestones it’ll be celebrating for years to come.
Esports Insider: Your key esports team partnerships this year have been with BLAST Premier, NAVI, and Team Vitality. Why did you choose these particular brands to partner with?
GG.BET: “For GG.BET, the main consideration is a similarity between the target audience and the brand’s values, as well as the potential for collaboration. NAVI became one of the brand’s key partners way back in 2017. It’s one of the most successful and recognisable organisations in the world. Our partnership with NAVI has helped us to strengthen brand awareness on an international level and generate fan loyalty all over the world. GG.BET and NAVI also share a heritage; both our brands have Ukrainian roots and are dedicated to developing local esports and popularising them on the world stage.
“Our partnership with Team Vitality, which began in 2022, was a huge step in the right direction in terms of gaining access to the European market. Like NAVI, the French organisation has confidently held a top spot in the world rankings for Counter-Strike 2 teams for a long time. In 2024, like in previous years, our partnership with Team Vitality allowed us to create unique activities, as well as exclusive content and events for fans.
“Our partnership with BLAST Premier in 2024 was a logical continuation of our strategy of collaborating with leading players in esports. Our brands are united by a content-based approach: we aim to bring new ideas to life through high-quality production. As part of our year-long partnership with BLAST Premier, together our organisations have focused on providing an exciting experience, incorporating a capacity for growth and an increase in the global status of esports.”
Esports Insider: Alongside those partnerships, you also held some pretty unique activities. Can you tell me about those?
GG.BET: “2024 was packed with exciting creative activities for GG.BET. One standout event was the CS2 showmatch Match of LeGGends: Double Down, featuring NAVI and Team Vitality. Departing from the usual tournament format, we used game modes like deathmatch and Hostage Rescue, creating a casual competition atmosphere. The showmatch drew over 600,000 viewers across our official channels and became the only showmatch of the year with an S-Tier ranking on Liquipedia.
“The offline action continued with GG.BOOTH branded areas at two major BLAST Premier tournaments. These transformable stands served as photo zones, autograph locations with NAVI and Team Vitality, and creative spaces for fans, drawing thousands of visitors and boosting the GG.BET brand’s viral reach.
“In Ukraine, GG.BET organised Community Watch joint viewing events in Kyiv for NAVI fans, where they could gather, watch the games on a big screen, and cheer for their favorite team. During the second event, fans were also connected live with the tournament in London via a link-up with OVO Arena Wembley, creating a unique experience for the Ukrainian audience.
We also launched GG.Chronicles, a series highlighting the personal stories of top players like Zyw0o, AleksiB, and mezii. This collaboration with BLAST Premier put the spotlight on their individual journeys, receiving widespread media coverage and hundreds of positive fan comments.”
Esports Insider: There seemed to be a particular focus on content-focused activations, teaming up with several esports media sites in 2024. What did you work on together, and what was behind that strategy?
GG.BET: “We actively worked on content in collaboration with leading esports media. One project that comes to mind was a series of educational articles, Behind the Broadcast, created in collaboration with your editorial staff at Esports Insider. We analysed how the esports industry works and gave an account of what goes on behind the scenes, which is often a mystery for the general [consumer] audience.
“Dot Esports helped us create Dota 2 World Records, celebrating major achievements in the scene. Partnering with HLTV, we covered the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 through daily Reels and Shorts, reaching over 5m viewers. With the talented Dom Sacco and his team at Esports News UK, we explored British esports’ history, present, and future. Our first TV partnership with GINX.TV captured the energy of 18,000 fans at the BLAST Premier: Spring Final 2024 in the OVO Arena Wembley, sharing the atmosphere in the audience with 1.4m viewers. Esports.GG supported us in covering BLAST tournaments with live content, quizzes, and giveaways through their BLAST hub. Meanwhile, with Esports Charts we delivered exclusive stats for the PGL Major Copenhagen and BLAST Premier series.
“All of these projects were joint creations, developed to create valuable, engaging content for the esports community. They’ve helped us stay up-to-date with the field and deepen our connection with our audience across the globe.”
Esports Insider: What partnerships have you struck outside of esports?
GG.BET: “In 2024, GG.BET broadened its activity in traditional sports. Brand partnerships in Ukraine with football clubs Dynamo Kyiv and Zorya Luhansk created opportunities for interaction with fans through streams, unique content and press conferences. As a result, GGBET UA attracted a sports audience and significantly expanded its user base.
“GGBET UA also became a sponsor for the streaming of EURO 2024 and the Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury first fight on MEGOGO. This partnership was key in strengthening GG.BET’s position as a brand in the Ukrainian market and attracting a new audience. Over 1.24m viewers in Ukraine witnessed the historic Usyk vs Fury fight. As a result, on the day of the stream, the number of first-time deposits with GGBET UA increased by 471%, which confirms the effectiveness of partnerships of this scale.”
“On the day of the stream, the number of first-time deposits with GGBET UA increased by 471%, which confirms the effectiveness of partnerships of this scale.”
Esports Insider: When it comes to measuring the effectiveness of your esports partnerships, how have they gone? And how do you gauge success?
GG.BET: “We focus primarily on several key parameters: audience reach, engagement, the number of interactions, and user activity growth. Besides quantitative data, qualitative parameters such as community feedback are also important to us. These help us adapt our strategy and increase the effectiveness of our ideas.
“In 2024, thanks to our successful partnerships with industry leaders, GG.BET was able to achieve significant results in terms of global development strategy. The brand has reached an audience of over 4.2bn, 3.8bn of whom were reached thanks to our partnership with BLAST Premier and the effective communication campaign built around this collaboration.
This partnership also allowed us to boost retention significantly; during tournaments, the bounce rate of users was close to zero. Analysis of bets on GG.BET’s platforms during the BLAST Premier Counter-Strike 2 tournaments showed that the daily betting average was 14% higher in comparison with the mid-season figure, and the average total stake was up by 17%. These data confirm that partnerships built on shared values not only increase brand awareness but also influence the company’s business performance effectively.”
