Hanwha Life Esports locks in Monster Energy sponsorship

Korean esports organisation Hanwha Life Esports (HLE) has announced a partnership deal with energy drink brand Monster Energy.

According to a release, HLE will receive Monster’s energy drinks and the brand’s logo will be featured on the left shoulder of the players’ jerseys. Additionally, the esports team will present unique content utilising Monster Energy products in both online and offline campaigns and events with fans.

This is the second partnership HLE has announced recently, following the partnership renewal with THE PLAZA hotel earlier last month.

Monster Energy has partnered with several teams esports organisations over the past years. It currently sponsors North American team Team Liquid and was previously a sponsor for Evil Geniuses as well. The drink brand is also partner with OverActive Media’s Toronto Ultra, as well as Vietnamese esports team GAM Esports, among others.

Owned by Korean insurance company Hanwha Life Insurance, which is part of the conglomerate Hanwha Group, HLE is an esports team competing in League of Legends and KartRider.

After acquiring the spot in the League of Legends Champions Korea from ROX Tigers back in 2018, the team initially struggled to find its footing in terms of competitive results. In the past three years, however, the team has picked up former world-class players such as Park ‘Viper’ Do-hyeon and Kim ‘Zeka’ Geon-woo to establish itself as a powerhouse in the Korean League.

Prior to the start of the new LCK season, HLE was considered the strongest League of Legends teams in the world, having recently won the first international tournament of the 2025 LoL competitive season, First Stand. A victory over European team Karmine Corp in the Grand Final allowed HLE to take home $300,000 (~£231,722) from the available $1m (~£779,778) prize pool.