Well, here’s a strange one.

While sponsorships in the eSports world are certainly nothing new, one of the more recent ones is…quite peculiar. It's even more peculiar because the eSports pro in question is a regular of the Super Smash Bros. scene and represents a game that is geared towards all ages. As a Nintendo product, Super Smash Bros. is likely the most family-friendly among competitive games.

Without burying the lede, we’ve just recently learned that Super Smash Bros. eSports pro Adam “Coastward” Hermosa has taken on a sponsorship from the website Fakku. On its face, that’s nothing too out of the ordinary about a website sponsoring a player, until one actually visits Fakku and realizes it’s a site dedicated to hentai, or anime pornography.

It might seem strange that a hentai site would sponsor an eSports pro, but Fakku actually sponsors speed runner Mychal Jefferson during his Yoshi’s Island and Jet Set Radio runs as well. So, there’s not necessarily anything unusual about Hermosa’s partnership with Fakku, save for the whole hentai thing.

According to Hermosa, he first approached Fakku about a possible eSports sponsorship as a joke. The Super Smash Bros. player tweeted at the site just to gauge their interest, and it turns out Fakku didn’t completely ignore him. After they favorited his tweet, Hermosa pursued Fakku more aggressively and eventually they agreed to the sponsorship.

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It’s worth noting, though, that while Fakku sponsors Adam Hermosa, there is no contract in place. The Super Smash Bros. eSports players is not required to promote any Fakku products, but he can do so if he likes. Similarly, Fakku can promote Hermosa’s Twitch channel and eSports events, while also supplying him with merchandise, but they are not bound by any sort of written agreement.

While the hentai connection is sure to generate attention, the interesting part of this story is what it says about the growth of eSports sponsorships. Whereas before gamers might see sponsorships from obvious companies like PC gaming accessory makers, the eSports scene has grown so much that big name brand sponsorships are not uncommon. That’s likely due in part to eSports’ growth among more traditional avenues. ESPN, for example, just recently started broadcasting the finals for The International, one of the biggest eSports tournaments around.

So, while it may be a little amusing to see a hentai site sponsor an eSports pro, it also speaks to competitive gaming’s growth that Fakku would actually consider such an option. Granted, there’s something a little strange about pornography and Super Smash Bros. existing in the same space, but it’s not the strangest thing we’ve ever seen. If eSports keeps on this trajectory we might see a Fakku logo sitting right next to a Coke logo.

How do you feel about a hentai site sponsoring an eSports player?

Source: Daily Dot