Taobao announced on Friday that it signed a sponsorship deal with Chinese esports organization LGD Gaming for its Dota 2 team. Taobao is the e-commerce brand of Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Under the terms of this sponsorship, the Taobao logo will be featured on the center chest of the team jerseys. In addition, the term “Taobao” will also be placed alongside the players’ in-game IDs when LGD Gaming competes in the Esports World Cup (EWC).
LGD Gaming is currently competing at the EWC Dota 2 competition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The team is also one of the 30 teams of the Esports World Cup Club Support Program. In 2015, Taobao was one of the key sponsors of LGD Gaming during Dota 2’s The International 2015 in Seattle.
Sources had confirmed with The Esports Advocate that the sponsorship deal would be only available for the LGD Gaming Dota 2 division, and not other teams the organization currently operates.