China Esports Weekly: OPPO Signs Two-Year Strategic Partnership With TJ Sports for Wild Rift, Nongfu Spring’s Scream Sponsors FPX

Last week several prominent non-endemic partnerships surfaced within the League of Legends esports scene, as did a multi-million dollar Series B2 financing round from China’s biggest esports company, VSPN.

In addition, the $500 thousand WePlay Dota 2 AniMajor commenced on June 2, with four Chinese teams Invictus Gaming, Vici Gaming, Team Aster and PSG.LGD competing in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Among the top stories across China’s esports industry: Chinese smartphone maker OPPO signed a two-year strategic partnership deal with League of Legends esports operator TJ Sports for the League of Legends Wild Rift esports competitions; Chinese esports organization FunPlus Pheonix signed non-endemic sponsorship deals with Nongfu Spring’s Scream energy drink and men’s cosmetic brand Tabula Rasa; and VSPN closed a multi-million dollar Series B2 funding round led by Morgan Stanley.

OPPO Signs Two-Year Strategic Partnership With TJ Sports for China’s Wild Rift Esports Scene

On May 28, Chinese leading smartphone maker OPPO unveiled the lineup for its Reno 6 product series: the OPPO Reno 6, OPPO Reno 6 Pro and OPPO Reno 6 Pro+.

At the launch event, the company announced that it has signed a two-year strategic partnership deal with TJ Sports, a joint venture of Tencent and Riot Games, thereby becoming the official partner of League of Legends Wild Rift esports competitions in China. The deal will last from June 2021 through the first half of 2023.

In addition, OPPO’s Reno 6 Pro+ will serve as the official equipment for China’s top Wild Rift competition, the Wild Rift Pro League (WPL). The Reno 6 Pro+ with the 8GB + 256GB version is up for sale at 3,999 yuan ($625), and 4,499 yuan ($781) for the 12GB + 256GB option. The smartphone also serves as the official equipment for Tencent’s top Peacekeeper Elite competition, Peace Elite League (PEL).

On May 10, Tencent registered an official account for the WPL on its social media platform Weibo, and the game has opened an alpha test since May 20, although it is only available for Android users.

It should be noted that OPPO is also one of the official sponsors of League of Legends Pro League (LPL), and the long-term global partner of Riot Games’ international events, including the League of Legends World Championship, Mid-Season Invitational and All-Star events.

SEE ALSO: Oppo Reno 6 Lineup Launched with 90Hz Display, 65W Fast Charging

FunPlus Pheonix Signs Sponsorship Deals With Nongfu Spring’s Scream and Tabula Rasa

On June 3, Chinese esports organization FunPlus Pheonix (FPX) announced that it has signed a sponsorship deal with Scream, an energy drink brand operated by China’s largest beverage company, Nongfu Spring. The sponsorship deal will be exclusive for FPX’s League of Legends team, one of the best teams in LPL. The team won the 2019 World Championship, and second place in LPL Spring Split this year.

Scream is a long-running Chinese energy drink brand, and currently one of the sponsors of the Chinese national diving team. The subsidiary of Nongfu Spring also holds a partnership with Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning. On June 1, FPX also signed a sponsorship deal with Chinese men’s cosmetics brand Tabula Rasa. The financial terms of both deals were not disclosed.

Apart from Tabula Rasa and Scream, FPX also has sponsors and partners including BMW, OPPO, Huya, Oshi, Bixin, Fish Cool and Herman Miller.

Other Esports Business News:

● On June 1, Chinese esports solutions provider VSPN announced the completion of a multi-million dollar Series B2 financing round, led by Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia (MSPEA). The funding will be directed towards the company’s global business expansion and the further development of its esports content matrix, the VSPN+.

● On May 29, Chinese esports organization Edward Gaming (EDG) signed a sponsorship deal with the machine oil brand Exxon Mobil Super. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Mobil Super is also one of the sponsors of LPL.