E-sports Shanghai Masters to be held in November

SHANGHAI -- As Shanghai looks to become a global center for E-sports, the city is now home to a top-level championship, with the 2019 E-sports Shanghai Masters to be held later this year.

Composed of four sections, including an E-sports competition, industrial forum, exhibition and a gala, the four-day event will be held from Nov 28 to Dec 1.

The competition section will have a total prize purse of 5 million yuan ($700,000), with over 100 top-level E-sports players from across the globe set to compete in Dungeon and Fighter, Overwatch, and League of Legends.

Wang Yong, deputy secretary general of the Shanghai E-sports Association, noted that the city's industry had grown rapidly in recent years.

"A one-kilometer stretch of road in downtown Jing'an District is home to more than 20 E-sports companies, and you can meet and co-operate with companies in the same industrial area or even within the same building," he said.

In recent years, Shanghai has introduced several policies to support the development of E-sports, and the city's E-sports market revenue reached 14.64 billion yuan in 2018.

Many major E-sports competitions, including the League of Legends Pro League and King of Glory Pro League, have been held in Shanghai, with the city also hosting The International 2019 (TI9), representing the first time that competition had been held in Asia.