Team Liquid has announced a partnership with the Professional Fighters League (PFL), a MMA competition that sees fighters compete in a regular season, playoffs, and a championship.

This deal sees select professionals that represent the European organisation become Ambassadors of the PFL. Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player for Team Liquid, will be ringside at the PFL Championship on December 31st.

Victor Goossens, Founder and Co-CEO of Team Liquid discussed the partnership: “At Team Liquid, we seek out innovative partnerships that allow us to explore new spaces. I fell in love with MMA 15 years ago when I was a pro Starcraft player living in Seoul – I see a lot of the same core values between our organizations with a focus on entertainment, competitive sports format and athlete–first culture. This partnership will allow Team Liquid pros and PFL top athletes to explore different ways to create entertainment and promotions for both fan bases.”

Team Liquid is also partnered with Alienware, Monster Energy, SAP, Twitch, HyperX, Ballistix, and MAXNOMIC by NEEDforSEAT. Most recently, the organisation entered a merchandising deal with sports entertainment brand Fathead.

Donn Davis, Co-founder and Chairman of the Professional Fighters League added: “PFL is the new sports league for the new age of sports… PFL is not your father’s MMA league and this partnership with Team Liquid is another example of PFL innovating to reach this generation of fans. Look for PFL to learn from esports as we rollout our enhanced video experience for the next season.”

Esports Insider says: There are definitely some overlap in demographics between esports and MMA so it’s understandable to see latter bring in the former to help with growth. It’d be great to see the partnership work both ways in the future, with PFL competitors attending events where Team Liquid is competing.

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