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League/Tournament Brands:
- Chinese esports organization Royal Never Give-Up (RNG) revealed that the organization will move its home venue to Shanghai from Beijing.
- As construction of the new home venue progresses, RNG will temporarily use the main public League of Legends Pro League (LPL) venue.
- A former Beijing-based RNG employee told The Esports Observer that the RNG Beijing team has disbanded, and the departing employees have been compensated.
On Jan. 2, Chinese esports organization Royal Never Give-Up (RNG) released an official announcement on Chinese social media platform Weibo that the company will move its home venue from Beijing to Shanghai. Until its new home opens, the team will temporarily use the public venue for the LPL—the Shanghai Hongqiao Tiandi Art Center—for the upcoming 2020 LPL Spring Split.
A former Beijing-based RNG employee told The Esports Observer that in November 2019 RNG offered the team in Beijing the chance to follow the company to Shanghai for new opportunities. At the time of writing, the RNG Beijing team has disbanded, and all departing employees have been compensated.
Sources close to RNG told The Esports Observer that the company’s main reasons for leaving Beijing are a lack of funding and more governmental support in Shanghai. RNG is considered as one of the most influential esports organizations in China. It competes in several games including League of Legends, Dota 2, PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG), and Honor of Kings.
The RNG League of Legends team has 13 sponsors including Mercedes-Benz, KFC, HP, and Kuaishou. On Jan. 1, its Dota 2 team also signed a sponsorship deal with Italian apparel brand Kappa.
RNG’s home venue was based in the Beijing Wukesong area, one of the most expensive in the region, with a multipurpose indoor arena in Beijing. The area includes the Cadillac Center, which was originally built for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics basketball finals.
One month ago, esports organization LN Gaming (LNG) also announced that the company would move its home venue to the Chinese city of Suzhou from Chongqing. Geographically, Suzhou is close to Shanghai, and easily accessible by transport—taking only 30 minutes with high-speed trains.
