On March 15, Sina Corporation officially announced the establishment the Weibo eSports Club. China’s internet giant has empowered Shanghai Jingzong Culture Media Company with the exclusive rights to establish the club, organize eSports events, produce the peripheral products and launch campaigns across Sina.com and Sina Weibo.

According to an official announcement, the club has established a team for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, an online battle royale game, and is preparing to set up teams for other popular games. The club aims to focus on eSports team planning, talent fostering, distribution and promotion, intellectual property and events.

Sina has plans to hold eSports tournaments, which is expected to include games such as League of Legends, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and King of Glory, in China’s major cities such as Shenyang, Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Wuhan, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

According to Sina, the internet company hopes that it can commercialize the eSports industry through the company’s resources and foster up more eSports talents for the country.

Newzoo said that China is the second-biggest market after North America for esports revenue, accounting for 16 percent of the global total in 2017.

Source: Sina

Proofread by William Logsdon