The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), the organizer of tennis’ iconic Wimbledon Championships grand slam major, recently hosted a similar yet very different tournament – the inaugural edition of the Wimbledon eChamps.
Contested on the videogame TopSpin 2K25, the eChamps saw eight global contestants compete head-to-head to secure the inaugural Wimbledon eChamps trophy. The event was hosted at the AELTC’s media center and broadcast worldwide live on the video platforms YouTube and Twitch, the latter of which is heavily focused on video gaming and the esports realm.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The tournament and its broadcasts were run, produced, and marketed by Blast, the expansive esports organization that among others is contracted to run Epic Games esports tournaments.
On the commercial side, the event was sponsored by American Express (Amex), the international banking firm that is also the official payment partner of the mainline Wimbledon Championships itself.
Amex had previously brought TopSpin 2K25 to the 2024 edition of Wimbledon, with visitors to its fan engagement set up at the AELTC able to sample the game amid Amex's branded hospitality offering.
Ahead of the inaugural Wimbledon eChamps, Sportcal (GlobalData Sport) spoke to Amex vice president for global brand sponsorships, Shiz Suzuki, and the AELTC’s digital product lead Chris Clements, about why the pair are making the step together into esports and what they intend to gain from their partnership.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataWhy at this point in the maturation of the esports industry was it time for the first Wimbledon eChamps?
Clements: “Firstly, there's the opportunity of TopSpin 2k25 coming out. It gives us the opportunity to be able to put on a competition which is befitting of Wimbledon, which meets the standards we look for in terms of making sure that we're reflecting the heritage that we have here, and that we're reaching new audiences.
“From our perspective, what it's really about is engaging with new audiences and giving people the opportunity to experience Wimbledon in new and different ways. If you look at esports viewership, there's a massive number of people that are engaging with esports, and so it’s important for us to be meeting that audience where they are.
“It's about ensuring that we are investing the time and the effort in making sure that our brand is showing up in the right places to support the future of our audiences and our event people are engaging with media in new and different ways. Esports is a perfect example of that, where people are engaging a lot more based on personality and community, and it's important that we're bringing those elements into what we do at Wimbledon.”
Suzuki: “At Amex, we’re committed to helping fans discover new ways to immerse themselves in what they’re passionate about and this was our driving aim behind the Wimbledon eChamps.
“We recognize that gaming is a global passion point for our card members and prospective customers and wanted to find a unique way to add value to the gaming community as well as powerfully back them in their journey to engage more deeply with Amex and Wimbledon.
“The eChamps was the perfect solution – bringing gamers together in a global online competition that resulted in an incredible IRL (in real life) moment, literally on the grounds of Wimbledon, where the ultimate champion was decided.”
The eChamps are free-to-air on YouTube and Twitch, which both boast large, young, gaming-focused audience segments. Is that the target demographic and what was the purpose of this target?
Clements: “We think it's extremely important to meet the audiences where they're spending their time. It's about taking Wimbledon and our heritage brand and making sure that we're showing up in an authentic but relatable way in those spaces.”
Suzuki: “Our portfolio of partnerships generate strong on-site engagement and help drive interest among prospective customers, giving them a taste of membership. Many also appeal to the next generation of card members, as millennials /gen Z continue to be our fastest-growing customer cohort.
“Over the last few years, we've ramped up the number of exclusive lifestyle experiences, sponsorships, and access to events that appeal to card members across generations and geographies, and reinforce the unique value of membership.”
What does Amex bring to Wimbledon and conversely what does Wimbledon bring to Amex?
Clement: “Amex has been a partner since 2019 and during that period, we've run a series of innovations that have reached new audiences, engaged with people in new ways, from the virtual hill, which was launched during COVID, through to our presence on [multiplayer videogame] Fortnite last year, and now this esports tournament. As a partner being powered by American Express, their support really enables us to make sure that we're able to reach those audiences targeted for engagement.”
Suzuki: “Being present at true cultural moments like Wimbledon is important to American Express because tennis is something our card members are passionate about. Partnering with Wimbledon provides American Express with the opportunity to deliver unparalleled benefits, services and experiences to our card members at this world-class event.
“We know when card members attend one of our experiences, they are more loyal and more engaged with the brand, therefore having American Express at Wimbledon allows loyal members to not only attend the prestigious event but also access all the on-site perks and the chance to get their hands on presale packages for the following year before it’s available to the general public.”
Looking forward to the future, are Wimbledon and Amex here to stay in the esports realm?
Clements: “I think there's lots of different opportunities in the future. If you look at the way in which sports is integrating with and showing up alongside esports, they're very complementary markets. There are various different approaches that we could take, depending on the opportunities that present themselves in the future.
“There are a lot of other really interesting things about how esports interacts and engages with its user base, which is important for us to understand if you're looking at changing media consumption and habits. Wimbledon needs to be ahead of some of those things and make sure that, for instance, we're building in elements of community and how important personalities are to some of the audience that engage with esports. There's a lot for us to take forward from that.”
Suzuki: “We’ve been involved in esports and gaming for a few years now with Race to Wimbledon developed in Fortnite Creative, Tennis Clash for the US Open, and our multi-year partnership with NBA 2K, and we’ll continue to expand our presence in gaming culture to bring fans exciting new ways to immerse themselves in their favorite sports.”
