Who are the big hitters in e-sports? Meet the top players and the most influential figures globally and in Hong Kong

The explosion of popularity in e-sports and the vast sums of money flowing into the space are both driven by the people who build and support the community.

Here, top professional players and the most influential business people in e-sports tell us how they came to be involved in the global phenomenon and what they think of the current scene. Their experiences, their perspectives and their aims are not just the story of how e-sports got to where it is, they’re a window into what its future may hold.

Johnson Yeh

Johnson Yeh is Head of Shanghai office at Riot Games, developer of League of Legends. The game is the base for the most popular e-sport in the world, with more than 100 million players. The title was the first true grassroots e-sports success that went on to win support from the game developer responsible for creating it. League of Legends currently stands as not only the most popular e-sport in the world, but also the most structured. Riot control all aspects of the professional leagues, and the company has recently made moves to franchise leagues in China and elsewhere.

Yeh was a top player in his youth, and then went on to organisations such as Goldman Sachs, McKinsey and the World Economic Forum. He also holds a PhD in Strategic Management.

“I love strategy games, and I love to set strategies, but even more, I love to make an impact and change the world.”