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Over the past week, Chinese esports business news has slowed down, but there were multiple partnership, sponsorship, and endorsement deals worth noting.
Among the top stories: Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning signed endorsement deals with 10 of Edward Gaming professional players; Razer signed an exclusive hardware partnership deal with the Huya PUBG League; Shanghai Esports Association registered 88 players from 18 esports organizations; apparel brand HLA Jeans and Men’s shampoo brand Clear sponsored esports organization EHOME; cosmetic brand Biotherm Homme signed a partnership deal with esports organization Fun Plus Phoenix; and hardware company Taidu signed a partnership deal with World Cyber Games (WCG).
Every week The Esports Observer presents the biggest esports business news in China, including investments, acquisitions, sponsorships, and other major news from the region.
Li-Ning Signs Endorsement Deals with 10 Edward Gaming League of Legends Players
Credit: Liu Yicun
On July 12, Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning announced that it signed endorsement deals with ten Chinese League of Legends players from esports organization Edward Gaming (EDG), including Ming “Clearlove” Kai, Tian “Meiko” Ye, and Hu “iBoy” Xianzhao. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
The endorsement deal will feature Li-Ning’s new esports focus sportswear line – “中国选手” (which translates to English as “Chinese Player”). According to a poster advertising the Li-Ning and EDG players deal, Li-Ning used the Chinese term “神秘装备” (English translation: “mysterious equipment”) to describe the esports sportswear line. This is the first time that Li-Ning has signed endorsement deals directly with esports players. In 2006, Li-Ning signed a four-year endorsement deal with NBA star Shaquille O’Neal. In 2012, Li-Ning signed a partnership deal with NBA star Dwyane Wade, and in 2018, the deal became a “lifetime deal.”
In October 2018, Li-Ning signed a sponsorship deal with the EDG League of Legends squad, but that became an issue due to Nike signing a four-year exclusive apparel sponsorship with TJ Sports for the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) in February.
In May 2018, EDG raised close to ¥100M RMB ($14.54M USD) in a pre-A funding round, co-led by Yao Capital, the private equity firm co-founded by Chinese NBA star Yao Ming. The organization currently competes in LPL, and King Pro League (KPL) for Honor of Kings.
HLA Jeans and Clear Sponsors EHOME
Credit: EHOME
On July 11, esports organization EHOME announced that it had signed two sponsorship deals with apparel brand HLA Jeans and men’s shampoo brand Clear. Financial terms for both deals were not disclosed.
Founded in 2005, EHOME is considered a historical esports organization in China. According to Tencent and Riot Games’ recently released “League of Legends White Paper,” EHOME was the first Chinese esports organization to field a League of Legends professional team.
Shanghai Esports Association Certifies 88 Registered Players as Shanghai Esports Athletes
Credit: Edward He / Unsplash
On July 10, the Shanghai Esports Association announced that the organization approved 88 esports players’ registrations, and officially identified them as Shanghai esports athletes for the first time.
The 88 players are from 18 professional esports organizations who play seven esports titles including Honor of Kings, Dota 2, League of Legends, Hearthstone, Warcraft III, FIFA Online 4, and Clash Royale.
In November 2018 the Shanghai Esports Association released a set of guidelines for the registration and management of esports athletes. Players will get government benefits as official Shanghai athletes, including educational and international visa support.
Other Esports Business News:
Credit: Fun Plus Phoenix
- On July 11, hardware brand Razer signed an exclusive hardware partnership deal with Chinese livestreaming company HUYA for its HUYA PUBG League. The league has a ¥500K ($72.7K) total prize pool and is hosted by HUYA in conjunction with production company Banana Culture. The HUYA PUBG League runs from July 12-21.
- On July 11, cosmetics brand Biotherm Homme partnered with esports organization Fun Plus Phoenix (FPX). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. FPX competes in the LPL as well as PUBG tournaments in China.
- On July 16, People Esports, the esports division of Chinese media magnate China Daily, announced that its esports grassroots tournament – People Premier League (PPL) – officially started. The tournament is open to the public and features Honor of Kings, Hearthstone, QQ Speed, and FIFA Online 4.
- On July 16, World Cyber Games (WCG) announced that it signed an exclusive partnership deal with Chinese hardware company Taidu for the 2019 WCG Xi’an. In addition, Li “Sky” Xiaofeng, the CEO of Taidu also became the image ambassador of 2019 WCG Xi’an, due in part to his Warcraft III wins at WCG 2005 and WCG 2006.
