Bookmaker Betway has announced a new one-year sponsorship deal with BLAST Pro Series, which will span eight events around the globe over the course of the year.

The deal, which includes an option to renew for another year, will grant Betway extended backstage access, VIP hospitality and a host of branding both online and in stadiums.

The 2019 BLAST Pro Series kicks off with three events in Sao Paolo, Miami and Madrid, with more expected to be announced in the coming weeks. The first event, The BLAST Pro Series: São Paulo takes place from the 22-23 March, with six of the world’s best CS:GO teams battling it out for a total prize pool of $250,000 (£190,000)

This latest announcement continues a highly successful 2019 for Betway, having signed two separate deals in esports sponsorship including Berlin International Gaming (BIG) and ESL.

Paul Adkins, Marketing and Operations Director at Betway, said, “BLAST Pro Series is one of the most exciting tournaments on the calendar; you only have to look at the reaction of the fans – both in stadium and online – to last year’s edition to confirm this. With events in the series being held all across the world, we can’t wait to reach even more fans than ever before.”

Leo Matlock, Head of Commercial Solutions at BLAST Pro, said, “Betway has been present in the esports community a long time and we are very excited to be collaborating with them. Betway prides themselves with sponsoring premium content so naturally we are thrilled that they want their brand associated with BLAST Pro Series, which is already an established and proven concept. It’s a grand validation for our product and we are looking forward to the partnership.”

Esports Insider says: Betway are having an amazing year and we are only in March. With another huge sponsorship in their portfolio, they continue to plough ahead of most bookmakers in the industry who remain reluctant to truly dive into esports. We expect competition to hot up in future and see more operators hopping into the esports event fray.