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On Nov 16, the King Pro League Grand Finals, China’s biggest esports tournament, attracted more than 30,000 people to a Beijing Workers’ Stadium that was sold out. Savvy Games, the Esports World Cup Foundation and other representatives also attended the event. It was hosted by Chinese tech giant Tencent as well as the largest esports organization in Asia (formerly called VSPO), Hero Esports.
HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud (Vice Chairman of Savvy Games Group, Savvy), Brian Ward, Savvy’s CEO, and Ralf Riedert, the CEO of Esports World Cup Foundation attended the tournament, where two of China’s top esports team competed for the Holy Dragon Cup, and its record prize pool.
The top 12 teams that advanced through the rounds in the six-week tournament received a total of 70,000,000 rmb (9.8 million dollars). Chengdu All Gamers defeated Chongqing Wolves in the final matchup. Chengdu All Gamers won in a best of seven series, and received 22 million rmb (about $3 million) as prize money.
King Pro League is the largest esports competition in Asia. It’s the premier esports tournament for Tencent hit game Honor of Kings. Honor of Kings, the most popular mobile gaming app in the world with over 100 million players daily, is Asia’s largest esports league. Hero Esports is the organization of KPL tournaments, since the league’s inception in 2016.
The KPL Grand Finals is the first KPL Grand Finals. It replaces the Honor of Kings International Championship, and includes the best teams in China, the largest esports market with the highest number of players. The events were held in Chengdu and Hangzhou, while the Grand Finals was held in Beijing.
Esports are gaining popularity around the globe, thanks to government support and new technology and products. According to a Frost & Sullivan Report the market size for esports gaming has grown at a 15.2% CAGR from US$29.8 Billion in 2017 to US$52.6 Billion in 2021. It is also expected to grow at a 12.1% CAGR from US$57.9 Billion in 2022 up to US$102.4Billion in 2027.
The report shows that global gamers have experienced a significant growth at a 7.1% CAGR from 2.3 billion to 3.1 billion by 2021. This number is expected to continue to grow at a 5.5% CAGR from 3.3 billion to 4.3 billion by 2027.
Danny Tang, CEO of Hero Esports and co-founder, said: “Hero Esports was proud to be a part the first King Pro League Grand Finals. This is an example for the high quality esports events that players and fans everywhere deserve. This event’s strong popularity in its inaugural year is testament to the growing interest in esports and our prominent sponsors. The atmosphere was electric in the arena and we congratulated the Chengdu All Gamers on winning the Holy Dragon Cup in its inaugural year.”
Hero Esports (formerly known as VSPO) is a global leader in the esports sector, collaborating and organizing tournaments with game developers, global brands, and players from around the globe. The company is the largest esports event operator in Asia. In 2023 it hosted 86 events in the region, of which 62 took place in China. This compares to 77 events in 2020 of which only three were held overseas. The company announced recently the Esports Asian Champions League, Asia’s premier international esports event featuring multiple titles.
Sponsors for the King Pro League Grand Finals in 2024 include Meituan and Snapdragon, SAIC Volkswagen, and iQOO.
