Air Force Reserve har netop meddelt at de vil sponsorere det amerikanske hold Cloud9. Det sker efter at de vandt LCS Spring Split uden at smide et eneste game.
Sponsoreringen af Cloud9 åbner op for mange muligheder for klubben. Jack Etienne, en af CEO’erne af Cloud9 udtalte:
“Cloud9 is proud to be partnered with The Air Force Reserve. This is a tremendous opportunity for Cloud9 and we’re looking forward to building a long relationship with an organization that values teamwork and dedication as much as we do.
This sponsorship is the result of several discussions between Cloud9 and The Air Force Reserve to ensure that we had a good fit. We saw many similar traits between each other including team work, hard work, and preparation. I don’t want to spoil any of the fun stuff we’re going to do but it’s going to be well beyond just a name on a jersey.“
Air Force Reserve er den første militæriske organisation der har valgt at støtte et professionelt eSportshold. Målet med støtten er at ramme en større del af den amerikanske befolkning, heriblandt gamere. Den amerikanske oberst Christopher Nick har udtalt følgende til ongamers:
“As the cyberspace mission continues to grow in the Air Force Reserve, we continuously search for new Citizen Airmen with various skillsets such as those possessed by online gamers.”
Sponsoreringen har fået stor kritik blandt communitiet. Der har dog også været folk der har set positivt på det, og ser Air Force Reserve som et andet firma, ligestillet med de andre. Hvis i vi lære mere om Air Force Reserve kan i klikke jer ind på dette link.