China Esports Weekly: Tencent Global Esports Annual Summit 2021 Planned, Worlds 2020 Contributed $4.6M to Shanghai Economy
Last week was significant for the China esports industry and for Tencent Esports in particular. Not only did a game publisher reveal its tournament and esports business summit plan, but solid achievements from Chinese esports events were also reported, according to a new report from the Chinese authority.
Among the top stories from across the country’s esports space: Tencent Esports again partnered with the Hainan government to bring the Tencent Global Esports Annual Summit to the city on June 16; Shanghai Sports Bureau recognized the Leauge of Legends World Championship 2020 as the city’s second most impactful sports event; Tencent-backed Global Esports Federation announced its plans for “Global Esports Games (GEG),” which will take in Singapore, Istanbul, and Riyadh for the next three years; and Tencent named Wild Rift Pro Leauge (WPL) for China’s top League of Legends: Wild Rift competition.
Tencent Global Esports Annual Summit 2021 Plan Unveiled
On May 11, Tencent Esports announced its plans for the “Tencent Global Esports Annual Summit,” which will take place in the Haikou International Convention and Exhibition Center on the island of Hainan, China. Tencent often reveals its esports plans for the China esports industry during events.
The summit will continue to be co-hosted by the Hainan government and Tencent Esports, with executives, leaders, experts from the esports, sports, and technology industry joining.
The summit will be divided into three sections: a Global Esports Leaders Summit, Tencent Esports Annual Conference, and Esports Industry Discussion Panel.
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Shanghai Sports Bureau: Worlds 2020 Ranked Shanghai’s #2 Most Impactful Sports Event in 2020
On May 12, the Shanghai Sports Bureau (SSB) released its annual “Most Impactful Sports Event” report, recognizing the Shanghai Marathon (#1) and the League of Legends World Championship (#2) as the two most impactful sports event in the city last year. 15 sports events were listed in the report, while five of the events were esports, including Worlds 2020 (#2), Esports Shanghai Masters (#6), Peacekeeper Elite World Champion Cup (#7), Leauge of Legends Pro League (LPL) Spring Split (#10) and Summer Split (#13).
The SSB also disclosed that the Shanghai Marathon contributed 49.4 million yuan ($7.67 million) directly to the economy, 5.28 million yuan ($820 thousand) in taxes, and created 607 job opportunities. Meanwhile, Worlds 2020 contributed over 30 million yuan ($4.6 million) to the economy, 3.21 million yuan ($485K) in taxes, and offered 364 job opportunities.
In 2019, Riot Games reported that its League of Legends European Championship (LEC) Spring Split Finals contributed $2.6 million to Rotterdam’s local economy in just two days, according to The Esports Observer.
During the pandemic, esports have proven their economic value. Shanghai, as one of the biggest international cities in the world, has shown its confidence by investing in multiple facilities, and hosting premium international tournaments. Earlier this year, Chinese property company SuperGen Group started construction work on the $1.55 billion Shanghai International Culture and Creative Esports Center. The construction is expected to be completed by 2023, creating 2K esports-related jobs.
Other Esports Business News:
- On May 13, Tencent’s TiMi Studios announced it signed a strategic partnership deal with Microsoft’s Xbox Game Studios. Details of the partnership were not disclosed.
- On May 10, Tencent confirmed that Wild Rift Pro League (WPL) will become the official professional league name of its upcoming mobile game League of Legends Wild Rift in the country. The game is known as the mobile version of League of Legends, developed by Tencent’s independent game studio, Riot Games.
- On May 11, the Tencent-backed Global Esports Federation (GEF) announced that Singapore, Istanbul, and Riyadh will be the hosting cities for its flagship esports competition Global Esports Games (GEG) for the next three years. While the prize pool money and the official esports titles to be played at the event have not been disclosed. Tencent Holdings vice president Cheng Wu is the vice president of the GEF.
