Team Liquid is one of the oldest esports teams in the world but it's finding new ways to engage with fans.
In January, Team Liquid launched Liquid+, its own fan engagement platform where users can earn free points by interacting with the esports team online and can redeem those points for merchandise (both virtual and physical) or experiences.
"What we're seeing is quite a lot of fans of Team Liquid aren't necessarily fans of the team in general but fans of a player," said Boudewijn "Bo" Kryne, Team Liquid's director of fan management. "And what Liquid+ is looking to do is transform fans from being a player fan into being a team fan."
Over 80% of Liquid+ users who responded to a survey conducted by the team report that the platform has made them a bigger fan of the team.
Team Liquid said that more than 40,000 fans are on the platform, where they watch livestreams of Team Liquid players, or post and comment on Team Liquid's social media to earn points. In turn, Team Liquid leverages its partnerships with Alienware, a subsidiary of Dell that specializes in gaming computers and monitors, and SecretLab, a Singapore-based company that makes gaming chairs and desks, to provide rewards to its fans.
Team Liquid also has plans to reward its most dedicated fans by putting some of their names directly on its players' jerseys in the near future.
Kryne said another popular fan redemption is buying Team Liquid developers pizza, and that the team plans to give fans the option to donate their points to charity.
"Everything on Liquid+ is free," Kryne said. "We offer a community that people didn't have before, and people like that so much that they're quite happy to give back."
It's a community that Kryne compared a fan bases of a traditional sports team, and to him, Liquid+ is the team's home stadium.
"It is that place where the fans come together to celebrate their passion for Team Liquid, and where we connect with them," Kryne said.
Liquid+ comes with a schedule page so viewers can keep track of their favorite streamers, a customizable profile page, and a system of quests and achievements. In the future, Team Liquid also plans to release a Liquid+ mobile app and launch individual platforms for different regions across the world.
Liquid+ has boosted engagement for Team Liquid
Team Liquid has seen a clear engagement bump from Liquid+.
When the team adds a reward incentive to a livestream, viewership increases by at least 20% and sometimes more than doubles, according to a slide deck geared geared toward selling a white-labeled version of Liquid+ to large streamers.
The smallest viewership bump was for Fortnite (+21%) while the largest was Starcraft II (+175%)
The platform was developed entirely by Team Liquid engineers. That gives the team the opportunity to create a carbon copy of the product to sell to other large streamers, as a way to engage their fans.
Kryne told Insider that Team Liquid hopes to secure clients for the white-labeled version of Liquid+ in the coming months.
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