WCA 2016 promotes e-sports in China

South Africa's Thomas Brown opening the WCA2016

The World Cyber Arena 2016 (WCA2016) China and APAC Pro Qualifiers Season 1 (S1) finals took place at the China National Tennis Center in Beijing on May 21.

Fifty-seven players in teams from China, Australia, South Korea, Malaysia and Philippines won in the six official games, including CS:GO, Hearthstone, Dota II, StarCraftII, Warcraft 3, and COS, have advanced to WCA2016 global finals that will be held in Yinchuan, capital of northwestern China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region this December.

The event was opened by Thomas Brown (from All Stars Club, Witbank, South Africa) who is the first South African to referee an international eSports event on foreign soil.

The WCA, held by Yinchuan government and Yinchuan International Game Investment Co Ltd, is an international e-sports event that has been held thrice. Under the slogan "Hero's Arena, Player's Dreamland", it is committed to promoting the developments of e-sports events and the sector and attracting more people to participate in e-sports.

China's e-sports sector has boomed in recent years under positive policy and social environment. The number of e-sports users has reached 124 million and the output value of the e-sports sector has reached 27 billion yuan by the end of 2015, and the overall market of e-sports in China is expected to exceed 50 billion yuan in the future, according to the 2015 China e-sports Game Analysis Report released by iResearch, a Chinese consultancy company.

According to WCA spokesman Li Yanfei, the E-Sports industry has a large amount of enthusiastic young fans that should not be underestimated.

As the titled sponsor of WCA2016, Lesports of LeEco Holdings Co, enters the field to create an e-sport ecosystem, Lei Zhenjian, founder and Chief Executive said with the government's positive promotion and capital pouring into the sector, e-sports is rapidly rising in China.

"The standards and business model of e-sports still needs to mature. And as a young sector, e-sports has diverse possibilities in its profitability," said Lei.