Chinese esports organization Edward Gaming (EDG) announced recently that it has teamed up with UK-based esports organization Fnatic (FNC). The Weibo post from EDG pointed out “EDG X FNC coming soon,” though further details about the collaboration have not been not disclosed, as of this writing. Sources close to EDG confirmed to The Esports Advocate that the partnership is for producing co-branding merchandise in China.
FNC has had its gaming gear chain since 2016 in the West, including keyboards, headsets, mouse pads, mice, and other accessories under the brand Fnatic Gear division. The two organizations are both competing in Riot Games’ Valorant and League of Legends esports and are widely known in the West and China.
EDG has shown its capability in the Chinese live commerce industry as it generated approximately ￥5M RMB ($690K) in revenue from selling EDG-branded Valorant weapon skins in a live commerce event on the Chinese short-form platform Douyin (The Chinese version of TikTok). In addition, EDG just won the Valorant Champions 2024 in Incheon, taking home $1M in prize money and becoming the first Chinese Valorant team to win a global-scale Valorant event.
The victory from EDG Valorant coupled with its powerful social influence and sales on Chinese social media and live-streaming platforms will hopefully boost EDG’s further collaboration with FNC and other brands aimed at esports fans in the region.