- Viva China Sports has acquired esports organization Snake, for “hundreds of millions of RMB,” according to a Chongqing Evening News report.
- Snake Esports competes in League of Legends and PUBG, and was the first team in the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) to build its own home venue in China.
- Chinese apparel brand Li-Ning, which has financial ties to Viva China Sports’ parent company, is currently the apparel sponsor of Edward Gaming and Royal Never Give-Up’s Dota 2 team.
Viva China Sports, a sports conglomerate based in Hong Kong, China, has acquired Chongqing-based esports organization Snake Esports. In an interview with Chongqing Evening News, Li Qilin, CEO of Viva China Sports, said that the the deal is worth more than “hundreds of millions of RMB.” The Esports Observer could not independently verify this figure.
The deal was first announced at the “2019 China League of Legends 
Leader Summit,” an event at which Chinese tech giant Tencent Games and game publisher Riot Games revealed their joint venture: TJ Sports.
Related Article: Tencent and Riot Games Create Joint Chinese Esports Venture: TJ Sports
At the event, Li Qilin made an appearance on stage as the new owner of Snake Esports. He is the nephew of Li Ning, on the executive board of Li-Ning Group, and CEO of Viva China Sports. There were also 15 LPL team owners in attendance, including Wang Sicong, the founder of esports organization Invictus Gaming and son of billionaire Wang Jianlin – the chairman of the Dalian Wanda Group.
After the event, Li Qilin was interviewed by Chongqing Evening News, where he confirmed the acquisition. He added that Viva China Sports was looking to acquire Snake at the end of last year; was also seeking more opportunities in multiple games, including Honor of Kings, Dota 2, and FIFA; and that more mergers and acquisitions were a possibility.
The Chinese esports organization Snake Esports competes in League of Legends and PUBG tournaments in China. In addition, it’s the first esports organization that established a home venue for the LPL. The venue is located in Chongqing, China, and can accomodate an audience of 1,000. Li Qilin said Viva China Sports will help the organization to grow its audience by applying its experiences in the traditional sports industry.
Viva China Sports is the sports directional subsidiary of Viva China Holdings Ltd., which is partly owned by Chinese entrepreneur and olympic gold medalist Li Ning. The company is the largest shareholder (13.7% in 2018 June) of Chinese sportswear company Li-Ning, founded by the Olympic gymnastics champion of 1990. In 2012, Li Ning sold his 25.23% shares of Li-Ning to his own company Viva China Holdings Ltd. for ￥1.36B RMB ($200M USD).
Li-Ning, one of China’s highest valued sporting goods brands, has already made several steps into the esports industry. In October of 2018, Li-Ning signed a sponsorship deal with Chinese esports organization Edward Gaming , and in early December of 2018, Li-Ning started selling the “Li-Ning X EDG” apparel line at its retail store in Shanghai’s Daning shopping complex. On Jan. 4, Li-Ning signed its sponsorship deal with Royal Never Give-Up’s Dota 2 team, and announced plans to produce ‘RNG X Li-Ning’ exclusive apparel.
