According to a report from Dot Esports, Alienware decided to cut its partnership with Riot Games 10 months early due to the sexual assault lawsuit against Riot CEO Nicolo Laurent. Riot worked with Alienware since 2019 as a hardware provider for its League of Legends broadcasts. The partnership was meant to expire in 2022 but Alienware saw fit to terminate the deal immediately. Alienware voiced concerns that the game developer's current legal battles raised concerns towards their future plans. The hardware developer made no official announcement but sponsors cutting ties with companies embroiled in legal troubles happen all the time.

ALIENWARE ARE YOU NOW?

The Riot deal accounted for a sponsorship across the entire League of Legends esports scene. The iconic alien branding has been present in several local leagues such as the LCS, LEC, LCK, and LPL. Additionally, the company also contributed to League's big annual international tournaments, the Mid-Season Invitational and the World Championship. The final blow came in the form of a Riot announcement this past weekend. Riot extended its gratitude towards Alienware as a “valuable partner” but declined to comment on any speculations surrounding the decision.

“Alienware has been a valuable partner to Riot since January 2019. We can’t comment on our agreement with them at this time due to confidentiality obligations. As we continue discussions with them, we have removed their branding from our broadcasts.”

Riot Games' many allegations of Sexual Assault shocked the public when the news broke out. Additionally, a separate case against CEO Nicolo Laurent proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the Alienware deal. Riot repeatedly claimed that the alleged instances of sexual assault were in no way “systemic.” Unfortunately, the 2021 case against the CEO ignited doubts over the company's direction. Above all, it's unsurprising that a big-name sponsor chose to end the deal prematurely. There's no telling which of Riot's other sponsors could follow suit in the following months.

Hopefully, Riot makes systemic changes to its work ecosystem before its esports leagues become adversely affected. Fans can expect Alienware to make an announcement soon.