This week in Chinese esports: Li-Ning, Guangzhou Sport University

As part of our partnership with China Electronic Athletics, we’re now bringing you the biggest headlines from the esports industry in China every week. This week in Chinese esports saw Li-Ning debut Team Griffin’s new jerseys and KPL announce a partnership with Guangzhou Sport University.

We also have a twice-weekly newsletter that informs you of every significant happening in the business and industry side of esports, the ESI Dispatch, please feel free to subscribe here.

Li-Ning debuts Season 9 team jerseys for Team Griffin

Chinese sports apparel company Li-Ning announced the release of exclusive Season 9 jerseys for Team Griffin. The jerseys, emblazoned with Li-Ning’s logo, will be debuted at the 2019 League of Legends World Championship. In June, Viva China Sports, the parent company of Li-Ning, started a sponsorship with Team Griffin.

China Electronic Athletics says: After Nike launched team kits for League of Legend Pro League (LPL), a discussion is forming that’s focussed on the appearance of such kits.

Although Li-Ning has sponsored teams in the LPL, it can no longer sponsor such teams considering Nike is now the competition’s exclusive apparel partner. It’s a good choice for Li-Ning to sponsor Team Griffin so it can promote itself through the team’s strong fan base.

KPL announces partnership with Guangzhou Sport University to provide players with higher education

King Pro League (KPL), the premier tournament for Honour of Kings in China, announced a partnership with Guangzhou Sport University. The deal will focus on providing higher education to professional players. Some players will have opportunities to study at Guangzhou Sport University and obtain an academic degree if they can meet certain requirements.

Yiru Zhang, General Manager of Mobile Esports at Tencent Interactive Entertainment and the Chairman of KPL Alliance, commented: “With the launch of this partnership, we are looking forward to helping some professional players to complete their higher education study. Players will be able to achieve an improvement of their comprehensive literacy and maintain competitiveness during long-term social development.”

China Electronic Athletics says: The problem of re-employment for retired players is becoming more and more apparent with esports becoming more and more professional. Although the specific rules for selecting players haven’t been announced, this is still progress.

Unlike traditional sports where players start training at a young age, esports players may need to train and study at the same time. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) may be an excellent example for us to learn from.

Contact China Electronic Athletics:
Wechat public account: china_ea
Contact Name: Xiang Shi
Email: [email protected]

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