A Chinese sports company is launching a multi-title tournament in Asia with the support of Saudi Arabia
Chinese sports company VSPO has announced its first multi-title tournament in Asia, marking a major push to expand its presence in the global industry with the support of Saudi Arabia.
The Esports Asian Champions League (ACL) will begin next year, with tens of thousands of professional players competing across the continent in a six-month season each year, the VSPO announced on Tuesday. The company backed by Tencent Holdings is the largest sports company in Asia.
The tournament will include seven to 10 titles when it is launched, according to VSPO, but did not disclose the names being considered. China’s two biggest video game companies – Tencent and NetEase – both had representatives at the launch event on Tuesday, raising the prospect that China’s top gaming titles like Tencent’s. The Glory of Kings will be installed.
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The tournament could strengthen China’s efforts to gain a foothold in the global sports industry, which the country has sought as part of an effort to increase its soft power through cultural exports.
Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan and VSPO founder Dino Ying at the launch of the Esports Asian Champions League on Tuesday. Photo: Handout alt=Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan and VSPO founder Dino Ying at the launch of the Esports Asian Champions League on Tuesday. Image: Handout>
ACL also received support from Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group, which invested $265 million in Shanghai-based VSPO by 2023. Saudi Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, Savvy’s vice chairman, assumed the role of honorary chairman of ACL. .
Speaking to the media at the event on Tuesday, Al Saud said companies aim to bring esports to people in a different way than traditional offline tournaments.
“To be able to do something to unite and bring all these players together, we want to do it in a way where they don’t have to jump on a plane and go… but to give them the opportunity to do this is an easy way that can take a step forward as a regional competition,” he said.
VSPO said it plans to make esports tournaments more accessible with cross-border tournaments “in the cloud”, using “dynamic gaming platforms” powered by “sports platforms spread across Asia”.
The Saudi prince and VSPO founders celebrate the launch of the new tournament. Photo: Handout alt=Saudi Prince and founders of VSPO celebrate the launch of the new tournament. Image: Handout>
China has the world’s largest esports market with 490 million participants, both gamers and viewers, according to data from the Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association. Revenue grew 4.4 percent year-on-year to 12 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion) in the first half of 2024, according to the agency.
China’s participation in global esports tournaments has produced great results in recent years. It won four gold medals at last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games and claimed four titles, out of 20, at the Esports World Cup (EWC), a two-month multi-sport event in Saudi Arabia this summer.
VSPO said it is in discussions to make the ACL a qualifying event for EWC 2025.
As China and Saudi Arabia seek closer relations in recent years, esports has emerged as a major area of cooperation. The Middle Eastern country aims to become “a global hub for the sports and games industry by 2030”.
“The relationship between China and Saudi has been going on for a long time,” Al Saud said on Tuesday. “But when it comes to sports, there’s a lot we can do together to make this industry better, and that’s not just investing.”
This article first appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice on China and Asia for over a century. For more SCMP news, please check the SCMP app or visit SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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