Competition heats up in esports industry

As the lights dim and the audience goes quiet, Zheng Yanzhao keeps his eyes locked on the big screen, ready to watch his favorite esports team play in the 2019 League of Legends Spring Playoffs.

Around him, hundreds of young fans have gathered in the LGD esports venue in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, waiting to cheer on their teams in the match.

In fact, that playoffs game received more than 440,000 views on Chinese popular video-sharing platform Bilibili.

Zheng, who traveled several hundred kilometers to watch his favorite team, says he is a die-hard fan of League of Legends, one of the biggest esports with various annual tournaments taking place globally.

"Generally, I only watch my favorite esports club, Edward Gaming, so I just don't want to miss the opportunity," said the 19-year-old sophomore at Hohai University in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province.

"Ming Kai is my favorite player. He really understands the importance of sportsmanship and I really admire him for practicing self-discipline and for his hard work and diligence," Zheng said.

Zheng, also president of the esports club of Hohai University, usually spends about two hours playing League of Legends a day, and sees esports as similar to traditional sports like football and basketball.

"Esports is just a natural part of my daily life. Actually, it means much more than simply playing regular video games, requiring both personal and teamwork skills," he said.

With more than 500 student members, Zheng's club organizes activities and matches to meet the young tech-savvy generation's increasing demand for the new form of entertainment.

For a long time, gaming groups were deemed a niche field compared to traditional sports or other forms of entertainment. Today, esports is seeing rising popularity and revenues, and Zheng and his club members are among the growing group of fans globally.

A recent report by gaming intelligence provider Newzoo said that the year 2019 marked a major milestone for the global esports market, as it would for the first time exceed the billion-dollar revenue mark.

The report said the passion of 453.8 million viewers was set to create a market worth an impressive $1.1 billion in 2019, up by 26.7 percent year-on-year, and the figure is tipped to hit $1.8 billion by 2022. More than 80 percent of the total market will likely come from brand investment, including media rights, advertising and sponsorship, the report said.

According to the report, China would overtake West Europe as the second-largest esports market, generating an estimated revenue of $210.3 million in 2019.

Wang Xu, chief analyst at Chinese gaming database Gamma Data Corp, took a rosy view of the future development of esports, saying there is huge growth potential in the burgeoning market.

"Currently, the esports industry is still at an early stage of development, and there's plenty of room for growth in esports tournaments, livestreaming and advertising," Wang said. "The business-friendly environment and the growing user base will have a positive impact on the esports growth."

Wang said esports had already become popular in China. The International 2019, the world's largest Dota 2 esports tournament, was held in Shanghai last August, with a $34.3 million prize pool.

"As esports and traditional sports are similarly consumed, professionals can manage and operate esports events similarly to traditional sports events. And many already see it as a form of sports competition using video games," Wang added.

Xiao Hong, CEO of Perfect World Co Ltd, which helped organize The International 2019, agreed, saying the esports sector will witness key development in the next five to 10 years.

"Those born in the 1990s and 2000s have grown up in an electronic environment. They were born into a world with portable devices, which means esports is just part of daily life. Simply by opening a gaming app on a smartphone, they can access esports," Xiao said.

Liu Yuhang, 22, is a die-hard fan of esports and president of the esports club of the Renmin University of China.

"Our group members increased from about 50 people in 2017 to more than 200 people now. And the number is set to rise to about 400 by the end of last year," Liu said. "Today, more and more students are showing great enthusiasm for esports, such as League of Legends and King of Glory. Esports requires teamwork and unique skills. I believe it can enrich our lives and we can have a better understanding of sportsmanship."

Esports is experiencing rapid growth in China, becoming a key driving force boosting the growth of the domestic gaming sector. Major cities and provinces, such as Hainan province, Shanghai, Chongqing and Hangzhou, are actively competing to become the country's new esports hub.

"Combining gaming and competitive sports, esports will become a key driving force to empower the traditional industries," Xiao of the Perfect World said. "Buoyed by the booming esports sector, we will access richer content including esports variety shows, movies and music."

"On the other hand, esports will also empower other industries, generating a variety of new businesses in terms of tourism, finance, e-commerce and training. Thus it will generate new momentum in the economy and bring more development opportunities for cities," Xiao added.

To foster the long-term healthy development of the esports industry, more efforts are needed to cultivate esports talents, Wang from Gamma Data Corp said.

"China lacks various esports talents, such as players, tournament operators, gaming developers and business developers. We need more professional educational organizations instead of the so-called esports training organizations that induce students to drop out and play games," Wang added. "And local governments need to keep a rational attitude, taking into consideration their own conditions."