The partnership between DHL and the ESL One series has been in place since 2018. ESL is the world's largest esports company and hosts tournaments in Dota 2 and Counter-Strike:Global Offensive (CS:GO) that are watched by millions of fans at live events and via livestream. Hamburg is one of six venues for the ESL One series 2019, four of which are in Europe. Alongside Hamburg, Cologne is the other German venue of the season, having hosted the CS:GO tournament in July. DHL is transporting a total of 770 tons of stage equipment and 1,050 gaming chairs to the six venues over the course of the season, covering a distance of 44,800 kilometers. The transported monitors alone cover an area of almost 4,500 square meters - the equivalent of eleven basketball courts.

"We are proud, as part of our partnership with ESL One, to be supporting one of the most important esports tournament series, one that thrills millions of fans all over the world and has long been able to compete with major traditional sporting events," says Arjan Sissing, Head of Group Brand Marketing at Deutsche Post DHL Group. "After the successful weekend in Cologne, which, as a Bonn-based company, was almost a home game for us, we are now looking forward to the second major esports event being held in Germany this year."

Following the events in 2017 and 2018, Hamburg is hosting ESL One for the third consecutive year, with well over 10,000 esports fans expected to attend the tournament in the Barclaycard Arena. Besides the Dota 2 tournament, in which US$300,000 in prize money will be at stake in the final on Sunday, there will be an additional highlight in the arena at the weekend in the form of the World Championship for the hit mobile game, Clash of Clans, that will see eight teams competing for a prize pool of US$1 million. The weekend will also host a variety of other activities, including a public viewing party, a cosplay contest, a drawing workshop and team signing sessions. Tickets are still available at: www.esl-one.com/dota2/hamburg/de/tickets/.

In addition to its partnership with the ESL One series, DHL has a host of top-class partners in sports, lifestyle and culture. These include Formula 1 and Formula E, football clubs such as FC Bayern Munich and Manchester United, the Rugby World Cup 2019, and also a number of Fashion Weeks and Leipzig's renowned Gewandhausorchester.