The market for esports in China is experiencing huge growth, according to a recent report.
The domestic esports audience will grow to 350 million this year, a year-on-year increase of 10.6 per cent, according to a study by Penguin Intelligence. The company predicts that China will have the largest number of core esports fans globally, reaching 75 million by the end of 2019.
The report predicts a market worth CNY13.8bn (US$2bn) in 2019, up by 63 per cent year-on-year. The growth mainly comes from income generated by tournaments, including sponsorship, media rights and money earned by clubs and players.
"There is still plenty of room for growth in esports players and viewers," said Wang Xu, chief analyst at gaming database Gamma Data Corp.
"With more gaming firms tapping into the esports sector, a growing number of key tournaments have been held by esports brands in China. And the new type of competition has gained a huge following among netizens."
Major cities and provinces are investing heavily in their esports infrastructures in bids to become hubs for the phenomenon.
Hainan province announced last week that a CNY1bn (US$145.5m) fund will be set up to promote the development of the esports sector. The money will be used to support related firms and investment in large tournaments.
The International 2019, the world's largest Dota 2 esports tournament, will be held in Shanghai this summer. It will be the first time China will host the annual event which will have a record-breaking prize pool of US$25.5m.
