China Esports Weekly: Tencent Partners With Shanghai International Circuit for PEL, Xiaomi Earns Role of Title Sponsor for PMNC UK

May 07, 2021, 16:43pm2021/05/08 06:06:59 Pandaily

Over the past week, the esports industry in China has celebrated the International Labor Holiday by hosting multiple esports competitions for audiences and fans. Shanghai-based tournament organizer Imba TV hosted its $185 thousand Dota 2 i-League at the Shanghai Aegean Shopping Park in front of a limited live audience, while Tencent<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> and VSPN also hosted a two-year anniversary party for Peacekeeper Elite in Chongqing, at which multiple partnerships were signed.

The Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) for League of Legends has finally started on Thursday in Iceland. China’s League of Legends Pro League (LPL) team Royal Never Give-Up has won its first match against Australian team Pentanet.GG.

Among the top stories across China’s world of esports: Tencent<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> signed a partnership deal with the Shanghai International Circuit for Peace Elite League (PEL); Xiaomi<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> earned the role of title sponsor for the PUBG Mobile National Championship (PMNC) UK region; Microsoft and Razer hosted a party for fans at the Chengdu Global Center, featuring Edward Gaming (EDG) League of Legends players; finally, Qualcomm Snapdragon became the title sponsor for JD.com<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> Peacekeeper Elite team.

Tencent<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> Partners With Shanghai International Circuit for Peace Elite League

During the PEL two-year anniversary on Monday, Leo Liao, marketing director of Tencent<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> Interactive Entertainment Group and president of the Peace Elite League (PEL) announced that Tencent<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> has signed a partnership deal with Shanghai International Circuit regarding plans to add racing content to PEL competitions.

Liao revealed that Tencent<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> will provide an exclusive Peacekeeper Elite racing mode in the game, along with a racing-inspired Spetsnaz Helmet (PUBG in-game item: Level 3 Helmet) for the PEL weekly champion team. This team will also win 1 million yuan ($155 thousand dollars) in prize money.

PEL is China’s top Peacekeeper Elite (the exclusive Chinese version of PUBG Mobile) esports competition. PEL also holds sponsorship deals with e-commerce platform JD.com<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder />, smartphone maker OPPO, chewing gum brand Stride and automobile firm Buick. In July 2020, PEL also partnered with the US mixed martial arts league Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

In addition, Lina Gao, project manager of Peacekeeper Elite announced a partnership between Tencent<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> Lightspeed & Quantum Studios and Chinese satellite company Charming Globe. The two are expected to launch “Peacekeeper Elite” rockets and satellites into outer space.

Xiaomi<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> Earns Role of Title Sponsor for PUBG Mobile National Championship UK

Last week, Tencent<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> and Krafton announced their partnership with Chinese electronics brand Xiaomi<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder />, which is to become the title sponsor of the UK’s first PUBG Mobile National Championship (PMUC).

The event will be hosted from June 4 to August 8, featuring £22 thousand ($30 thousand) in total prize pool money. Additionally, the winner of the event will also qualify for the 2021 PUBG Mobile Pro League (PMPL) Western Europe, which will take place this autumn.

The popularity of first-person shooter (FPS) mobile esports is on the rise globally. Tencent<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> and TiMi Studios announced Tuesday that its game Call of Duty Mobile has surpassed 500 million downloads across iOS and Android devices around the world. Apart from Xiaomi<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder />, more Chinese smartphone brands including OPPO, Vivo, Huawei and OnePlus have shown considerable interest in sponsoring esports competitions and teams.

SEE ALSO: Huya Lands Exclusive Rights for Chinese League of Legends Events in $310 Million Deal

Other Esports Business News:

On April 30, Microsoft collaborated with hardware brand Razer in hosting a large-scale fans party at the Chengdu Global Center. Invitees to the event included the Chinese esports organization Edward Gaming’s League of Legends team.
On May 2, JD.com<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder />’s esports division JingDong Gaming announced that its Peacekeeper Elite team has adopted a title sponsor deal with Qualcomm Snapdragon – the team has rebranded as “JDE Snapdragon.” Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
On April 30, Chinese gaming chair brand AutoFull announced that the brand has signed a partnership deal with LPL team Rare Atom. The company will provide gaming chairs for players at their Wuhan headquarters.

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