5 of the Best Ambassadors for Gaming Brands in 2023

Brand ambassadors have become one of the most important marketing tools for growing gaming franchises. As the world of competitive gaming – more commonly known as Esports – soars in popularity, team organisations are frantically looking for ways to increase their relevance among their target demographics.

Several Esports organisations have cultivated their ambassadorial partners perfectly, bridging the overlap between Esports and other relevant sectors within popular culture. Below, we shine a spotlight on five of the most influential ambassadors in the gaming scene today.

Mason Mount

Chelsea and England international midfielder Mason Mount has been a prominent brand ambassador for Combat Gaming in the last two years. Mount was appointed to host the organisation’s very own gaming show on Sky TV in the summer of 2021 and he remains the face of the brand in 2023.

Mount regularly enters celebrity Esports events, representing the Combat Gaming brand. It’s always felt like a natural fit between Mount and Combat Gaming. After his exploits with the England national football team, Mount has been a man in demand. Mount’s personality and audience appeals greatly to Combat Gaming, which is fostering a vibrant community of gaming content creators, athletes and celebrities.

Lex Veldhuis

39-year-old Dutchman Lex Veldhuis is a Twitch and YouTube sensation. With no less than 311,000 followers on Twitch and 128,000 YouTube subscribers, Veldhuis has become one of the go-to personalities in the world of online poker.

He is one of the leading ambassadors for PokerStars, representing them at many of the leading online and live poker events throughout the calendar. This brand describes itself as the home of online poker, which is by no means inaccurate given its enduring presence since the initial online poker “boom” of the early 2000s. Veldhuis himself is a highly successful poker player, registering career live earnings of more than $700,000.

Ruben de Ronde

40-year-old Dutchman, Ruben de Ronde, is one of the leading influencers in the electronic dance music (EDM) scene. Aside from leading his own progressive trance record label, de Ronde is also the mastermind behind A State of Trance, which is widely recognised as one of the biggest proving grounds for EDM producers and DJs.

In April 2021, fast-growing Esports organisation Team Liquid enlisted the services of de Ronde to become its next brand ambassador. De Ronde had previously helped with the launch of the Liquid+ live stream in January 2021, so this was a natural progression. He describes himself as an “active gamer” and de Ronde saw a visible overlap between the world of EDM and Esports. He has continued to create musical content for the franchise in the last two years.

Luva de Pedreiro

Luva de Pedreiro considers himself to be the “finest football influencer in the world”. The Brazilian became an internet star with his YouTube channel shining a spotlight on American soccer. The 21-year-old is currently the only Brazilian to be followed by the official Instagram account, such is his notoriety in the sports influencer scene.

De Pedreiro has had sponsorship deals coming out of his every pore since his meteoric rise to stardom. He sealed a huge contract with Adidas and recently teamed up with LOUD, becoming a brand ambassador for the Brazilian Esports organisation. Since his appointment, de Pedreiro has been present at some of Brazil’s most prominent Esports events, notably the Brazilian League of Legends Championship finals, which was won by LOUD.

Virgil van Dijk

British Esports organisation Tundra Esports secured a major partnership with Liverpool and Netherlands international defender Virgil van Dijk in August 2022. Van Dijk is one of Europe’s most impressive and popular defenders and an inspiration to teammates like Rhys Williams. He not only assumed a role as brand ambassador but acquired shares in the organisation. The 31-year-old has been tasked with promoting the team and offering in-house support to Tundra’s growing roster of Esports professionals.

Van Dijk is not the first prominent brand ambassador for Tundra, having already secured the services of UK grime act MC P Money, who produced a music video to announce the Dutchman’s collaboration. This seemed a natural fit for Tundra, given that they have prominent FIFA Esports teams, as well as competing in Dota 2 and Fortnite events.