To firmly establish itself as a new major player in esports, BMW is partnering six of the world’s top esports organisations. Cloud 9, Fnatic, Funplus Phoenix, G2 Esports, OG Esports and T1 each comprise up to 300 pro players battling it out above all in the incomparable League of Legends, Dota 2 and Valorant. The players and fans of these teams are at the heart of #UnitedInRivalry. Their competitive spirit and historic rivalries have always been part of the esports scene’s lore. At the same time, the teams share a boundless passion for gaming and related activities. This is what #UnitedInRivalry stands for.

As part of the partnership with BMW and in line with esports’ culture, the teams will challenge and try to outdo each other prior to matches, using the #UnitedInRivalry hashtag on channels like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, WeChat and various streaming platforms across the world. These mutual wind-ups are meant to increase each team’s motivation, but above all they also serve to entertain.

However, with #UnitedInRivalry, BMW Esports is entering completely new realms, even fictional ones. BMW has sent its six partner teams on a very special journey together; in Japanese artist Acky Bright’s manga, they are the heroes in a fantasy world. They can only make it through the adventures that await them there as one, despite being rivals – making them #UnitedInRivalry. The BMW Esports teams’ story is set in the well-known manga genre of Isekai, in which real-world heroes master challenges in a parallel fantasy environment and have to survive fictional dangers. There are eight episodes of "Heroes of Rivalry" in total and a Christmas special, which can be found at www.bmw.com/heroesofrivalry.