A variety of companies have been jumping into eSports lately. Twitch recently announced a new venture with Super Evil Megacorp to create a mobile eSports league featuring Vainglory; TBS is still set to introduce a Counter-Strike competitive series this summer; and even ESPN is getting into eSports, despite previous objections to its appeal. Now, Chinese eCommerce company Alibaba could be showing the largest interest in these tournaments to date.
GamesIndustry International reports that the company has paired up with Singapore-based YuuZoo to create a new eSports initiative in China, and that it could see investment in over 1,200 different events for this year alone.
YuuZoo has a great deal of experience putting eSports activities together, including the Electronic Sports China Cup and China Internet Gaming, both of which were tremendous draws.
This deal, with an investment worth 100 million yen ($15.5 million), would put YuuGames in charge of AliSports’ World Electronic Sports Games (WESG) tournament, as well as its various eSports Club Competition Centres, with 20 located throughout China. The first tournament will kick off this month, with a 35.6 million yen ($5.5 million) prize pool.
“Sports is a multibillion dollar business in China, with massive growth potential,” said Zhang Dazhong, CEO of AliSports, in a statement. “That is why Alibaba is investing heavily in this vertical. Linking sport and technology enhances the quality of life. That is what we want to do through AliSports.”
While 1,200 various eSports events may seem like an overload, keep in mind that China has over 100 million eSports fans.
We’ll see what kind of success comes from the deal in the months ahead, but considering how wildly competitive gaming has grown over the past few years, it should be a key investment for Alibaba.
