It was announced today that the leading Chinese eSports club, EDward Gaming, received a Pre-A round funding of close to CNY100m (USD15.73m). Yao capital and China Icon Entertainment Industry Funds (中国偶像娱乐产业基金) are the lead investors in this first funding EDG have received. 

The club plans to use the funding to improve internal operations and management,  increase content production and marketing of the club’s culture, enhance the youth training system and open more sub-divisions. 

EDG was established in 2013 in Guangzhou and belongs to Super Gen, a gaming and entertainment company. As one of the top eSports clubs in China who have performed impressively in the League of Legends, EDG is reported to be profitable already. Commercial partnerships such as player endorsements, live player streaming, merchandise sales and content are said to be the four pillars of its income. 

CEO of Super Gen, President of EDG, Wu Lihua was quoted by a Chinese funding company Sansheng Capital as saying, “eSports is no longer a small-scale industry. At this stage, professional management of the club and the capability to integrate external resources should be stressed, to facilitate growth at a higher level. Otherwise, it would be difficult to handle it. ” 

EDG is not the only eSports club in China that has received funding recently. Vici Gaming received CNY50m (USD7.86m) in April, GK Gaming got close to CNY10m (USD1.57m) in October 2017 and LGD Gaming obtained CNY30m (USD4.72m) in May 2017. However, EDG’s funding amount is by far the largest. 

Source: iFeng

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick