Gaming's golden year broke new ground

Poster boys

Meanwhile, marketing campaigns are increasingly driven by gaming's stars as the sector becomes less reliant on monetizing its digital products, such as new visual effects or limited-edition equipment for characters.

The appearance of Chinese e-sports legend Jian Zihao, aka Uzi, in a Nike poster campaign last year, which also featured NBA superstar LeBron James, was further proof that gaming now transcends the screen.

Uzi's Beijing-based club RNG is at the vanguard of innovative ways to develop e-sports, attracting the sponsorship of Mercedes Benz in the auto giant's first link-up with the sector.

RNG has also partnered with Chinese sports brand Li-Ning, which launched an RNG-themed jersey at the club's sixth anniversary celebrations in Beijing last month. An RNG-themed smartphone is also on the way thanks to a deal with Nubia.

"All of this cooperation shows that the e-sports sector is recognized by more and more people," said Li Jieming, RNG's chief marketing officer. "More brands from other sectors have started to understand and cooperate with e-sports clubs. I believe such cooperation will continue to grow and deepen.

"Six years ago, our players trained in residential buildings and played competitions in internet bars or warehouses, but now we have our own stadium.

"Six years ago, the coach and players were all we had, but now we have a whole operation and supporting team. Six years ago, we had only one LOL team, but now we have 12 teams in 10 different games."

Other clubs are moving in the same direction. JD Gaming last month opened its very own stadium in Beijing, becoming the sixth LPL club to own its home venue.

As well as Beijing-based JDG and RNG, WE, Snake, OMG and LGD have established permanent homes in Xi'an, Chongqing, Chengdu and Hangzhou, respectively.

Not renting venues allows clubs to generate extra income from ticketing, sponsorships and merchandizing.