Ali Sports, the sports arm of China’s e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba Group, announced a strategic partnership with e-sports presenter ImbaTV on Monday.

The RMB35 million deal will see ImbaTV become a global broadcaster of the World Electronic Sports Games (WESG), the flagship e-sports tournament of Ali Sports. However, the sports company will still oversee the distribution rights to the e-sports tournament.

Ali Sports CEO Zhang Dazhong said, “Any sport begins as a game in its emergence, therefore Ali Sports has become involved in e-sports hoping to ‘get rid of the weed and keep the flower of the leek’ in the industry.”

“The broadcast deal on WESG between Ali Sports and ImbaTV will fundamentally change the presence of e-sports operation. In the meanwhile, Ali Sports will mirror the models of traditional sports in its e-sports operation and exploit the great value of quality IP (resources) with the advantages of Alibaba’s ecosystem,” Zhang continued.

WESG, launched by Ali Sports in late March 2016, is an international e-sports tournament with participants from over 100 countries and districts.

Source: Sina

Proofread by Sean O Diobhilin