Everybody wants a piece of the growing e-sports pie in China
- Ann Hand, the CEO of Nasdaq-listed Super League, says China is the place to be if companies want to tap the potential of the fast growing e-sports market
- China set to become the second biggest e-sports market after the US this year
According to industry reports compiled by e-sports analyst Newzoo and consultants PwC, China is set to overtake South Korea as the second largest e-sports market after the US this year and continue to grow at a compound annual rate of 21 per cent until 2023. China will account for US$210 million in revenue this year, compared with US$409.1 million in the US.
In fact, Newzoo said in its 2019 report that the craze for e-sports has grown to such an extent that six cities – Hangzhou, Chongqing, Shanghai, Xian, Sanya and Haikou – are now competing to become China’s e-sports hub.
Companies like Alibaba Group Holding are also investing in its own top tier e-sports tournament around China where teams of players compete against each other in shared online battlefields. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
Chinese cities are already bidding on high profile e-sports events in the way that cities bid for the Olympics, said Jason Fung, director of e-sports for Alisports, Alibaba’s sports division.