Wild Rift League-Asia fires up in Shanghai
eSports event Wild Rift League-Asia opened in Shanghai with more international competitors.
The Wild Rift League-Asia, an international mobile League of Legends league event, made its debut in Shanghai over the weekend.
In a first, the WRL was upgraded to an Asian event this year, with 12 Chinese mainland clubs and eight overseas teams from APAC region including Thailand, Vietnam, Philippine and South Korea.
The event bets on more overseas participation, which meets China's growing demand for eSports and mobile games, while helping meet Shanghai's goal of becoming a global "eSports Capital."
The WRL A1 (first season) will be held between April and July, with final championship events held between July 21 and 23. The overseas teams participate in the competition online in the initial stages while they will attend offline events if they are qualified in the final stage. The total prize pool will surpass US$1 million.
"The whole Chinese e-Sports industry capacity and quality is already world-class," said Eric Feng, mobile LPL eSports head. "It will be a great help for Shanghai to build a global eSports capital."
Feng added that eSports will be more recognized in the future, and will become a sport that really affects young people.
Riot Games' League of Legends is one of the most popular eSports games in China. According to industry officials, the bulk of China's mobile eSports teams are in Shanghai or neighboring cities.
