When South Korean esports organization Gen.G Esports defeated T1 Entertainment & Sports in League of Legends Champion Korea (LCK) and got the last “ticket” to attend the League of Legends World Championship, the total 22 international League of Legends teams for the Worlds 2020 in Shanghai were confirmed. Meanwhile, multiple teams such as MAD Lions, Fnatic, and G2 Esports have landed in Shanghai and started their 14 day quarantine due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Without a doubt, China’s esports industry and League of Legends esports fans are excited to witness the biggest League of Legends annual competition, scheduled to start on Sept. 25.
Last week, Chinese chat service company TT revealed that the company is considering an acquisition of a League of Legends Pro League (LPL) team and an LPL franchise slot. In addition, Riot Games and TJ Sports signed a strategic partnership with Shenzhen Media Group, and the LPL team Victory Five also welcomes a new investor, K-Pop star Jackon Wang.
Apart from the League of Legends esports in China, the industry also saw developments in Honor of Kings esports and third-party esports tournaments.
Among the top stories in China’s esports industry: Honor of Kings team Hero announced to locate in Nanjing, and would have a KPL home venue in the city; Samsung partnered with World Cyber Games, becoming the presenting partner of WCG 2020 CONNECTED; LGD Gaming collaborated with Chinese beauty camera company Meitu.
TJ Sports and Riot Games Partner With Shenzhen Media Group, Victory Five Announces New Investor
On Sept.7, League of Legends developer Riot Games, LPL operator TJ Sports, esports organization Victory Five, and Shenzhen Media Group co-hosted a multi-partnership signing ceremony in Shenzhen.
Mario Ho, Founder of V5; Leo Song, Co-CEO of TJ Sports; Lindong Huang, vice president of Tencent Games; managing director of SZMG Zhangbiao Liu; and multiple Shenzhen politicians attended the ceremony.
During the ceremony, Riot Games and TJ Sports signed a strategic partnership with SZMG. The three companies will integrate their resources and focus on developing a sustainable esports ecosystem in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Great Bay Area.
V5 also announced that the organization has located in Shenzhen, and become the sixth LPL team to have its home venue in the city. The home venue is still under construction, and will be completed at the end of 2020.
In addition, Chinese musician Jackson Wang also announced that he has invested in V5, and has become the new partner of the organization. Wang was a member of the Korean pop band GOT7 and has a significant presence in the K-Pop scene. He also has a close friendship with Ho.
KPL Team Hero Relocates to Nanjing
Apart from Shenzhen and the LPL team, Chinese city Nanjing welcomed its exclusive esports team Hero, which competes in China’s top Honor of Kings competition, King Pro League (KPL).
Hero’s parent company Chang Ao Sports (CAS) and Jiangsu Sports TV Channel (JSC) co-hosted a press conference on Sept.7 in Nanjing Hero Esports Center.
During the conference, CAS signed a partnership deal with JSC, including esports-related projects in brand promotion, offline event production, public competition hosting, content creation, and talent training.
In addition, as a core esports representative of Nanjing City, Hero will relocate to the city as one of six KPL teams to have its home venue, alongside All Gamers (AG) in Chengdu; Edward Gaming Mobile (EDG.M) in Shanghai; eStar.Pro in Wuhan; QGhappy in Chongqing; and TTG.XQ in Guangzhou. Hero also revealed its new team logo, which will officially be in used during the 2021 KPL seasons.
In team-related partnerships, Hero also signed two non-endemic partnership deals with the U.S. streetwear brand Skechers, and Chinese alcohol brand Wansan Chateau. Skechers will provide team jerseys for Hero, as well as a co-branded apparel and footwear line for sale. Wansan Chateau will produce co-branded alcohol drinks as well.
Samsung Signs Presenting Partnership Deal With World Cyber Games
On Sept.7, World Cyber Games (WCG) announced that the company signed a presenting partnership deal with Samsung Electronics for its 2020 esports online competition called “WCG 2020 CONNECTED.” Samsung Electronics becomes the presenting partner of the competition, and owns the exclusive marketing and promotion rights for the competition’s PC, DDR, and SSD electronic products.
The WCG 2020 CONNECTED features $285K USD total prize pool and will feature four esports titles including WarCraft III: Reforged, CrossFire, FIFA Online 4, and Honor of Kings. WCG announced that due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition of WCG is an online-only event, and mainly feature Chinese and South Korean players. In May, the Beijing government announced that WCG would become a part of its “Esports Beijing 2020” Series, alongside the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM).
The WarCraft III: Reforged competition of the tournament started on Sept.7, and will end on Nov. 8. The Esports Observer has reached out to WCG to confirm more information.
Other Esports Business News:
- On Sept. 4, Chinese esports organization LGD Gaming collaborated with Chinese beauty camera company Meitu on a social media campaign on Weibo. The collaborating Weibo featured LGD’s Dota 2 player Wang “Ame” Chunyu. Pan “Ruru” Jie, the founder and CEO of LGD Gaming also posted her selfie as a comment.
- T1 Entertainment & Sports signed a partnership deal with Chinese short-form video company Kuaishou. The organization also signed a betting sponsorship deal with Southeast Asian betting outlet Yibo for its Dota 2 division.
- On Sept.5, the Beijing Haidian government signed $64M USD multiple sports-related partnerships, including a three-year deal for Intel Extreme Masters (IEM), according to the Beijing Haidian official press team.
