Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) Deepens Reach in China With Tencent Esports Collab 

Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF), the Riyadh based organiser of the eponymous international esports tournament, is teaming up with China’s Tencent Esports division to widen its regional footprint for the sport. 

Under the collaboration, Tencent Esports is poised to play an influential role in the expansion of the EWC brand in China through added visibility, fan engagement, activations, and interactions with the industry in China to broaden its reach.

Following the partnership, Tencent Esports general manager and vice president of Tencent Games, Mars Hou, stated,  “The Esports World Cup has created a global stage for competitive gaming, demonstrating its influence not only in China but across the world.”

“Through this partnership, we are committed to elevating EWC’s presence in China and integrating our esports industry with the world’s largest competitive gaming event.”

It is no surprise that major Saudi Arabia esports companies have eyed esports investments and partnerships in China, as the nation is the world’s largest esports market. Besides the EWC Tencent partnership, Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund backed Savvy Games Group had  invested US$265m into Chinese esports firm VSPO.

According to ASN data, esports has seen investment of almost US$64.2m since Q222, with an average quarterly investment of US$5.3m+ during this period. However, spends have dipped between US$2.6m and US$4.5m since Q423, and Q125 is poised to be in similar vein with investment forecasted to reach about US$2.6m. As for markets, China (65.5%),  South Korea (12.1%) and Malaysia (7.8%) are the three largest markets for esports sponsorship spend.