Hana Bank sponsors SKT esports team

Esports company T1's "League of Legends" team. / Courtesy of SK Telecom

By Baek Byung-yeul

SK Telecom's esports subsidiary T1 has signed a sponsorship deal with Hana Bank, a unit of Hana Financial Group, according to the company, Friday.

Under the deal, the two will co-develop financial products targeting young consumers, and T1 players will have badges promoting Hana 1Q, a smartphone app for Hana Bank, on their uniforms. Also, the first floor of T1's headquarters building will be the "Hana 1Q-T1 Hall of Fame."

T1 is arguably one of the most prestigious esports teams, competing in leagues focused on games such as Riot Games' "League of Legends," Blizzard Entertainment's real-time strategy game "StarCraft" franchises and shooting games "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" and "Fortnite."

SK Telecom has operated the esports affiliate since 2004. It established a joint venture with U.S. sports and entertainment company Comcast Spectacor in 2019 to expand its reach into the global esports market.

T1 has about 80 professional gamers playing for various leagues, including star Lee Sang-hyeok, better known by his in-game ID "Faker." He plays in the "League of Legends" league.

Hana Bank will offer personalized financial consulting services to T1 players, helping them manage their salaries more efficiently. Hana Insurance also plans to launch accident insurance coverage ― which is widely used in other sports leagues ― for T1 players.

Hana Bank said it decided to sign the sponsorship deal to increase brand awareness among young people.

"With the partnership with T1, Hana Bank expects it can increase its customer base to young clients, boost brand awareness of its Hana 1Q in global markets and produce more financial instruments taking advantage of esports," Yeom Jeong-ho, head of future finance projects at Hana Bank, said.

T1 also has secured sponsorship deals with German carmaker BMW and sports brand Nike, which want to improve brand awareness among young people.

As of July, T1 had about 21.4 million followers of its social media channels. Between 500,000 and 1 million fans watch T1's esports games.

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