eDivisie to become 'KPN eDivisie' as new season begins on March 30

KPN joined FBTO and H&M in November 2020 as Official Partner of the eDivisie. However, beginning with the new season, the partnership will be expanded to fully embrace the competition: the eDivisie will become the KPN eDivisie.

The previous eDivisie season, played between November and January, was watched by more than 500,000 unique viewers, more than ever before. In addition, the eDivisie Final achieved the highest average viewing time (average of 20 minutes) since the inception of the eDivisie.

Mark Versteegen, Director of Sponsoring at KPN: “Within the last months KPN became an Official Partner of the eDivisie, organized by the Eredivisie CV and DreamHack Sports Games, and also signed as the launching partner of E_Oranje, the esports initiative of the Dutch national football association (KNVB). With these two partnerships we broaden our existing activities in Dutch football, and at the same time reach a huge part of the Dutch gamers. Now that the eDivisie becomes the ‘KPN eDivisie’ we are even more prominently present in the fast-growing gaming domain. eSports is one of the fastest growing sports communities in the world. With our lightning fast and stable fibre network and with our top rated mobile network, we are there for all gamers being the “network of the Netherlands”. We are more than proud to connect our name to the successful eDivisie.”

“We are absolutely delighted to expand KPN's partnership with the eDivisie, and now add the league's naming rights,”said Scott Steedman, Chief Commercial Officer of DreamHack Sports Games. “KPN is a long-time, trusted partner of the eDivisie and has experienced the benefits of working with the eDivisie itself. We look forward to sharing this expanded partnership through innovative campaigns that will both inspire and value our community.”

KPN's step to adopt the eDivisie is a vote of confidence according to Arnoud Schonis, Project Manager eSports at the Eredivisie CV: “This is a huge step for esports in the Netherlands and we are proud that one of the largest companies in the Netherlands has put its trust in its in the eDivisie speaks out even more. This is how we build our trustworthy and professional image and reach and entertain even more young football and EA SPORTS FIFA fans. With a partnership of 2.5 years, we can structurally and stably expand the eDivision together with KPN, DreamHack Sports Games and our other partners.”

From March 30 to June 2, the 18 Eredivisie clubs will compete for the championship and € 50,000. A total of 17 rounds of play are played every Tuesday and Wednesday for seven weeks, after which a ranking from 1 to 18 is known.

• The winners who are ranked 1–4 will immediately qualify for the eDivisie Finals
• Players ranked 5 to 12 will compete in a Playoff for the remaining four places in the final.
• On June 2, eight clubs will compete against each other in the eDivisie Finals.

The eDivisie takes place every Tuesday and Wednesday from 4:30-8:30 p.m.(CET), and can be seen live via the eDivisie YouTube channel. All matches are provided with commentary by influencers including Koen Weijland, Frank van der Slot, Bas van Velzen and Raoul de Graaf.

Compared to the previous eDivisie season, there have been three player changes.

• Ryan Tilborg of Feyenoord is replaced by Collin Dekkers, who is returning to the eDivisie after previously playing for RKC Waalwijk.
• FC Emmen replaces Toon Buné for the Swedish Oliver Uttgren (Oliboli).
• The Belgian Stefano Pinna, who played for PSV tow years ago, joins VVV-Venlo, replacing Lars de Jong.
• Especially intriguing about “Oliboli” this season is the fact that he already won a major European tournament and the FIFA eClub World Cup.
• Combined, this all reinforces the eDivisie as one of the most professional, leading EA SPORTS FIFA leagues in the world.