View source for News/Team Liquid X Honda Partnership Over

{{News
|seo_title=Team Liquid X Honda Partnership Over
|seo_keywords=Team Liquid
|image=Team_Liquid.jpg
|tags=Team Liquid, Honda
|date=2025-05-21T11:20:09.000Z
|sources={{NewsSource
|source=Esports Insider
|url=https://esportsinsider.com/2025/05/honda-team-liquid-sponsorship-termination
|article=News/Team Liquid X Honda Partnership Over
}}
|author=Andura
|category=Drama
|content=Honda has officially ended its long-standing partnership with [[Companies/Team Liquid|Team Liquid]], citing conduct by one of the esports organisation’s players that it deemed inconsistent with the company’s values. The decision was announced through American Honda Motor Co.'s (AHM) official news page, bringing an end to a sponsorship that had been in place since 2019.

The termination comes in response to a controversial social media post made by Team Liquid’s Rainbow Six Siege player Lucas ‘DiasLucasBr’ Dias, which was widely criticized as being culturally insensitive toward Japanese players. Though Dias issued a public apology on May 15, 2025, via X (formerly Twitter), and later directly apologized to players from CAG Osaka—who reportedly accepted the apology—the backlash prompted Honda to reevaluate its association with the team.

In its statement, Honda said:
“After much consideration, AHM has decided to terminate its sponsorship with the team in question, deeming the conduct to be incompatible with Honda corporate values and unacceptable. We deeply apologise for any offence this incident may have caused not only to the esports community, but also to many people in Japan and globally.”

Honda also reaffirmed its commitment to supporting initiatives that align with its broader corporate philosophy: “Honda will continue to support activities that provide positive value to society based on our company philosophy.”

Team Liquid responded to the decision in a statement acknowledging the impact of the incident:
“Due to the controversy generated by this incident, our automotive partner Honda Motors has made the decision not to renew our partnership. Although we regret this outcome, we understand and respect the decision, and extend our thanks to Honda Motors for having been good partners for six years.”

During the five-year collaboration, Honda had grown its involvement with Team Liquid significantly. The automaker held naming rights to the organisation’s League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) and Academy teams, and was a visible presence in the organisation’s North American esports ventures.

As for disciplinary action, Team Liquid confirmed that while DiasLucasBr would remain on the roster, he had been penalised with a four-month salary fine. The organisation stated that while it did not believe the post was intended as a direct insult, the damage had been done.


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