Bilibili Gaming Establishes Headquarters in Hangzhou

On Oct. 30, Bilibili Gaming (BLG) held a grand opening of its headquarters in Hangzhou Future Science Town. Local government officials including the secretary of Yuhang District Communist Party Committee, Zhenfeng Zhang, Bilibili president and CEO, Mr. Rui Chen, and BLG CEO Youyou Chen attended the event.

At the opening ceremony, a speech was delivered by Chen. According to his remarks, BLG will continue cultivating the local esports market and hosting esports events at all levels. In addition, Chen announced that Hangzhou Future Science Town will officially house the headquarters of Hangzhou Spark, which will represent Zhejiang Province and compete in the Overwatch League (OWL).

Owned by Bilibili and founded in 2018, Hangzhou Spark is one of the eight expansion teams in the 2019 OWL. BLG also operates an eponymous academy team for Hangzhou Spark. It currently competes in the Overwatch Contenders, the development league of the OWL.

The past few years have witnessed Bilibili becoming a major investor of the Chinese esports ecosystem. Aside from operating its live streaming platform and professional esports teams, the organization and production of domestic and international esports events, such as Esports Shanghai Masters 2019, Warcraft Gold League, and the OWL, have become top priorities for the company. More recently, Bilibili secured a three-year exclusive broadcasting deal for the League of Legends World Championship, Mid-Season Invitational, and All-Star events with Tencent’s subsidiary Riot Games.

SEE ALSO: Suning Esports Partners with KFC and Roewe Prior to League of Legends World Championship Finals

Bilibili’s long-term vision is to create a sustainable esports ecosystem centered in Shanghai and Hangzhou, yet with influence reaching beyond the Yangtze River Delta region which includes Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces. Bilibili is committed to providing high-quality esports content and connecting esports fans across the globe.

The city of Hangzhou is also home to LGD Gaming, one of the first esports organizations in the country. The organization’s headquarters are housed in the city’s esports town where the home venue for its League of Legends Pro League (LPL) team is located. Hangzhou plans to inject 1.26 billion yuan into 14 esports projects by 2022. The investment fund will help build an esports-dedicated academy, hotel, office park, and hospital.