Great partnerships are built upon shared beliefs and long-term commitment. In my own life, there’s no better example of a partnership than the 19 years I’ve shared with my wife Jennifer. We started our life journey together as high school sweethearts. Professionally, I’ve seen Dell and Alienware become a beacon of how partnerships should be built – based on trust and commitment with a “community first” approach.
Within the realm of Esports and gaming, core values of “listening and learning” are central to long term success. Two community-minded partners that stand out are those Alienware cultivated with Riot Games and Microsoft. We have some exciting news to announce with both partners along with some updates to our flagship Alienware Area-51m, giving our community even more ways to access, watch and dominate their favorite games.
RIOT’s LoL World Finals in Paris
Alienware announced its partnership with Riot Games top grossing game, League of Legends (LOL) Esports at CES 2019 as the official competition PC and display partner, supporting the LCS (League of Legends Championship Series), LEC (League of Legends European Championship), and flagship global competitions: The World Championship, Mid-Season Invitational, and All-Star Event. Recently having crossed the ten-year threshold, League of Legends has seen sustained interest and massive growth from its fan base because of its commitment to putting the community first. They have maintained status as one of the world’s most popular games, attracting around 8 million concurrent players daily. Our shared approach to our fans and community made a partnership with LoL Esports a no-brainer. I’m proud that Alienware powers both LoL domestic and international competitions, but what I think is even better – showing the gaming community that Alienware is committed to helping the scene grow through technology.
As we wrap up the first year of our multi-year partnership, there’s much to celebrate. We’ve literally circled the world with League of Legends Esports and have continued to expand our commitment to LoL Esport fans. Here are a few examples:
- We’ve built 1v1 stations at live LoL Esports events to give fans an opportunity to challenge their friends, and even select League Partners, in order to win special in-game skins, jerseys, and other prizes.
- We’ve hosted live community events, such as Hotline League and held viewing parties throughout the year to give fans additional ways to watch the competition with their friends.
- By supporting creators and LoL Esports personalities like Travis Gafford, Ovilee May, VoyBoy and others, we’ve helped enable the production of content that connects fans with the storylines surrounding tournaments, favorite personalities, and insights into gameplay from former pros.
- And expanded our LoL Esports partnership to additional leagues around the world including, CBLOL in Brazil, LPL in China and LJL in Japan
Right now, we’re at the 2019 League of Legends World Championship in Paris, where Alienware and Dell hardware will be front and center both onstage and in the event production. For five days (Nov. 6-10) we’re hosting a booth at the Paris Esports Village on the forecourt of the Hotel de Ville from noon to 8 p.m. daily, leading to the main event itself – the World Championship Finals at AccorHotels Arena on Sunday, Nov. 10.
How prominent have Alienware and Dell been on the road to the World Championship? The numbers tell the story:
- Alienware’s hardware & monitors have been part of LoL Esports connected by 13 domestic leagues around the world, and in 2019 Riot Games hosted Esports events across five continents and over 20 countries.
- Over the course of the 2019 competitive season, nearly 800 players took to the stage to play on the Alienware Aurora and competed across five regional leagues and three global competitions as well as Rift Rivals using our Alienware PCs and displays
- Players from more than 40 nations have played on Alienware’s hardware, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Poland, Russia, Vietnam, the United States and more
The focus has and will continue to be on the community. So, not heading to Paris? No problem, you can watch live matches by tuning in at watch.lolesports.com, and visit the Alienware Arena to learn more about our partnership with Riot Games.
Microsoft Xbox Game Pass & Alienware Area-51m Upgrade Kit
Our focus on enabling gamers expands beyond our partnership with Riot Games, and I’m glad to write on a few exciting bits of news. Alienware will be expanding our already deep-rooted partnership with Microsoft to offer Xbox Game Pass for PC (Beta) exclusively on Alienware and Dell Gaming devices. Microsoft has introduced a new and exciting way for gamers to play and enjoy their games, and we’re in on making that happen! So, if you like exclusive member discounts, and you’re a fan of titles like Halo: Reach, Forza Horizon 4, Gears 5 and Football Manager 2019 – check out this offer when you purchase a new gaming PC. Make sure you check out Alienware Arena for more information.
Lastly, holding true to our commitment announced with the launch of the Alienware Area-51m, customers can now purchase a GPU upgrade for their notebook! Just two days ago, we released a graphics card Upgrade Kit for Alienware Area-51m. It includes desktop-grade NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 or 2080 cards, a thermal module and matching power adaptor. You can order and upgrade yourself, or you can have an Alienware product technician come to your home to install and make sure it runs perfectly. Meeting this customer commitment was very important to us, and we’re proud to make it a reality.
Alienware’s most important partner is and always will be the gamer. We are gamers, dedicated to building the Alienware brand for gamers, and will always be committed to gamers, with the exuberance of high school sweethearts.
