Chinese League of Legends esports operator TJ Sports announced the new sponsor list for its 2026 League of Legends Pro League (LPL) First Season, including seven brands: e-commerce platform Jing Dong, apparel brand Li-Ning, condom brand Durex, electric scooter brand Skymotor, Chinese appliance TCL, energy drink Warhorse, and gaming chair AutoFull.
It should be noted that the German automobile Mercedes-Benz is not on the list, as well as the Chinese smartphone OPPO and Intel. Mercedes-Benz had sponsored China’s LPL since 2018, and had become the chief partner of the competition from 2019 onward. It is unclear whether it would affect the partnership with League of Legends global events, such as the League of Legends World Championship (Worlds 2026) and Mid-Season Invitational (MSI). In addition, The Esports Advocate has also confirmed that the Mercedes-Benz logo is not on the Entertainment & Sports (T1) team jerseys. It’s more likely the sponsorship will also end. Mercedes-Benz Korea sponsored T1 starting in 2023.
LPL’s commercial peak was 15 partners in 2021, including Mercedes-Benz, Nike, Momchilovtsi, KFC, Harbin Brewery, Wahaha, Warhorse, OPPO, Suning, Lenovo Legion, chat service TT, Liepin, AutoFull, Razer, and Intel. Now it’s down to just seven.
Last week, LPL announced plans to operate with 14 teams in 2026, down from 16. The 2019 League of Legends World Championship winner FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) and three-time MSI winner Royal Never Give-Up (RNG) will no longer be with LPL.