Turkish Airlines Partners With BLAST Pro Series For September Istanbul Event
Published: Jul 29, 2018 - Last Updated: Oct 4, 2022
The BLAST Pro Series have announced that its CSGO event is heading to Turkey in September for the very first time. For that occasion, the organizers have secured a big name as the official transportation partner: Turkish Airlines.
Action unfolding at the end of September
Owned and run by Danish esports media production company RFRSH Entertainment, the BLAST Pro Series had its debut last year in Copenhagen. This year, the action is coming to the Ülker Sports Arena in Istanbul. The multi-purpose venue stretches over 55 thousand square meters and can host roughly 14,000 fans.
Initially, the event was scheduled to take place at the end of June. But it had to be postponed due to Turkish elections. Now, the action will unfold Sept. 28 and 29. Six of the scene’s best teams will attend.
“BLAST Pro Series is the biggest esports tournament and event ever held in Turkey,” said Impact34 CEO and BLAST Pro Series Istanbul Event Director Bettina Kuperman. “The World Premiere of BLAST has been an obvious inspiration to the industry, and a lot of exciting and new elements has been added to the show production since then.”
Impact34 is a sports and entertainment marketing firm based in Istanbul. The company specializes in bringing together global clientele to create powerful innovative projects. Having Turkish Airlines come on board excites both the tournament hosts and the Turkish esports scene.
“Ever since we announced we’d bring BLAST Pro Series to Istanbul, we have received a lot of attention from fans, broadcasters and some of the biggest Turkish and international brands,” Kuperman added.
Esports and non-endemic companies
Turkish Airlines’ investment comes on the heels of many powerful airlines gaining footholds in esports.
French aeronautics company Airbus, for one, announced their foray into esports in October last year. It sponsored a competitive League of Legends team – Out of the Blue.
Malaysian budget airline AirAsia also announced its journey into esports with a sponsorship deal. Partnering with the World Electronic Sports Games (WESG), an international competition based in Shanghai, the company embraced the burgeoning industry.
Moreover, Emirates, the Dubai-based airline, entered into an entertainment deal with ESL last year. Emirates outfitted its inflight entertainment systems with on-demand esports content.
It’s hard to find better evidence of esports’ international appeal than this.
Editorial credit: NextNewMedia / Shutterstock.com
Since: September 12, 2015
