Last week, details about the WESG Grand Finals were finally revealed. The international competition featuring top esports titles and players from many countries around the globe is heading to Chongqing, China from March 7-17.
$2.5 million up for grabs
This year’s World Electronic Sports Games will feature not only top competitive gaming titles — CS:GO, Dota 2, Hearthstone, StarCraft II, PES 2019, and Vainglor — but also a total prize pool of $2.5 million. The event will be held at the Chongqing Olympic Sports Center, a sports venue that includes a multi-purpose stadium with seating for over 58,000 fans.
Led by Alisports, the sports arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, the multi-game event will see players from 64 countries and regions come together. WESG was first held in 2016 and, compared to other more traditional one-title tournaments, resembles more of an Olympic style.
The Chongqing General Administration of Sport and Innovation & Technology Committee will join forces with Alisports to co-organize the event.
The announcement for WESG follows the recently completed Dota 2 Chongqing Major. Thus, the momentum is there to cement Chongqing as an esports hub in one of the world’s biggest gaming markets.
Attracting youngsters and brands
The event will be sponsored by Alipay, Alibaba’s financial services company. HyperX and Asus‘ computer brand ROG will also join as sponsorship partners. Then, Huya will serve as the streaming partner for the tournament.
Because esports fans are generally young, brands are increasingly identifying such events as a gateway to reaching this demographic.
