NHL franchise San Jose Sharks will host an NHL 21 esports tournament with Western Digital’s WD_BLACK brand serving as the presenting sponsor. The Sharks Pacific Cup Presented by WD_BLACK will begin in November, is scheduled to conclude in January, and will offer a $25K USD total prize pool. According to a release, this is the largest prize pool to date for a 6v6 NHL esports tournament.
Western Digital is an existing sponsor of the San Jose Sharks. This tournament and the partnership follow a growing trend of non-endemic brands moving into esports through their affiliation with an established traditional sports entity. Most often, these deals occur surrounding esports events for analogous sports simulation games.