Hercules Tires Partners with Esports Organization Team Liquid to Present New Competitive Series

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C., Oct. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hercules Tires, a subsidiary of American Tire Distributors (ATD), and Team Liquid, a leading worldwide professional esports organization, today announced Hercules Tires as the official tire sponsor of the first-ever Hercules Tires Esports Invitational.

The Hercules Tires Invitational series kicks off on October 20, and the two-part event will showcase 16 of North America's most popular Rocket League teams including: G2, Shopify Rebellion, Torrent, XSET, Charlotte Phoenix, Pittsburgh Knights, and Oxygen Esports.  All teams will battle for major cash prizes:

• 1^st place: $12,000
• 2^nd place: $5,000
• 3^rd place: $3,000

The competition will be comprised of 35 matches, with over 25 hours of branded broadcast. All invitationals will be broadcasted and live streamed on Team Liquid's official Twitch (twitch.tv/teamliquid). There will be sponsored chat box giveaways, live actions social media posts, and a virtual tailgate.

"Our partnership with Team Liquid will further the progress we are making to expand our brand in authentic and meaningful ways across new platforms," said Hercules Tires Senior VP, Joshua Simpson. "It also showcases our commitment to engage new consumers – including a new generation that participates in gaming as a form of competition – and to build relationships through a digitally-focused platform."

"We're revved up and eager to bring this event to life with Hercules, a legacy brand known for its quality and reliability," said Team Liquid Vice President of Sales Steve Reed. "They are a natural fit for this series, where speed and precision can make a real difference in how things play out."

The invitational marks Hercules Tires' first-ever partnership in esports. The series will be live-streamed Wednesday, October 20 and Thursday, October 21, and Wednesday, October 27 and Thursday, October 28 on Team Liquid's Twitch channel.

ABOUT HERCULES TIRES 
Hercules Tires is widely recognized as the industry's premier value brand with a comprehensive selection of passenger, UHP, light truck, medium truck and specialty tires.  Since 1952, independent tire dealers and distributors have trusted Hercules to deliver outstanding quality, exceptional support, and unsurpassed value. 

Hercules is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Tire Distributors, Inc.  American Tire Distributors is one of the largest independent suppliers of tires in the North American replacement tire market. The company offers an unsurpassed breadth and depth of inventory, frequent delivery and value-added services to approximately 80,000 customers across the U.S. and Canada. 

ABOUT TEAM LIQUID
Team Liquid was founded in 2000 in the Netherlands and has evolved into one of the leading international multigame esports teams with training centers in Utrecht, and Santa Monica, California. Team Liquid has over 110 athletes competing across 18 distinct games, including all major esports titles, such as League of Legends, CS:GO, VALORANT, Rocket League, Dota 2, Rainbow 6: Siege, and more. Led by Co-CEOs Steve Arhancet and Victor Goossens, Team Liquid is one of the most successful esports teams in terms of competitive achievement and fan engagement across multiple sports. Their League of Legends franchise is undefeated in North America in 2018 and 2019, claiming four LCS titles in four splits and a second-place finish at the international tournament the Mid-Season Invitational, while their CS:GO team won the Intel Grand Slam in 2019. For more information: https://goo.gl/dSYvHT.

In addition to the premier esports team franchise, Liquid Enterprises operates various business units created to complement its esports athletic brand. This includes influencer management agency Liquid Media, esports Wikipedia Liquipedia, and 1UP Studios, the full-service production company known for its high-quality esports documentary style filmmaking, and creative commercial content. 

In September 2016, controlling interest in Team Liquid was purchased by esports ownership group, aXiomatic. aXiomatic leadership includes Co-Executive Chairmen Peter Guber, Ted Leonsis, Jeff Vinik and Bruce Karsh who together represent an unparalleled team of sports, technology, entertainment, and investment industry titans.

SOURCE Hercules Tires