TS Gaming Crowned Winner in $4.6M ‘Honor of Kings World Champion Cup’

The 2020 Honor of Kings World Champion Cup Final concluded in Beijing’s Cadillac Center, after witnessing one of the greatest comebacks in Honor of Kings esports history. Chinese esports organization TS Gaming defeated their opponent DYG in a best-of-seven game, surmounting a seemingly impossible comeback from a 0-3 disadvantage with a four match win streak. In the end, TS took home ￥13.4M RMB ($1.93M USD) in prize money, the lion’s share of a ￥32M ($4.6M) total prize pool.

The event was hosted by China’s largest game publisher, Tencent Games, in conjunction with world-leading esports total solutions provider VSPN. The Honor of Kings World Champion Cup is the highest tier competition in the Honor of Kings global esports ecosystem, as well as being one of the biggest tournaments in mobile esports. This year featured 18 teams from China, Europe, South Korea, the United States, and Malaysia all coming to compete.

Now an iconic underdog story in Honor of Kings’ esports history, TS originated from a grassroots background in the Honor of Kings development league, the KPL G-League (KGL). TS overcame 15 other teams, winning the Spring season of the top professional competition, known as the King Pro League (KPL).

On top of showcasing the incredible performance of esports players, tournament organizer VSPN invited renowned Chinese artists and musicians, accompanying the event with songs, dance and musical drama inspired by Chinese culture. This was made possible through the support of the Beijing municipal government.

In addition, Yijia Zhang, the Brand Director of Honor of Kings as well as the President of the KPL Union, announced that five Chinese artists have become brand ambassadors of the game: Kris Wu, Jackson Yee, Qian Song, Mi Yang, and Xian Li. All of them have a significant presence in the Chinese music, film, and entertainment industry, and will be featured at KPL offline events, Honor of Kings anniversary celebrations, and will even make virtual in-game appearances.

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While the Honor of Kings World Champion Cup represented a significant moment for China’s esports fans, it also posed a challenge for the organizers to keep live audiences safe without sacrificing the high-quality viewing experience. It should be noted that the tournament is China’s first offline esports event to feature a live audience, following seven months living under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From online esports competitions to offline live events, China’s esports industry has faced numerous challenges in maintaining its level of production alongside health and safety checks.

“VSPN’s aim is to continue to bring high-quality esports tournaments to esports fans of the world — all under the condition of keeping fans and audiences safe during the pandemic, and sharing these valuable experiences with every esports colleague,” Gavin Zheng, cofounder & COO at VSPN told Pandaily.