The Esports Advocate
Esports business news: deals, legal, and governance.
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Shanghai Court Orders RNG and Founder to Pay ¥162 Million
The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court has issued a significant legal mandate requiring the prominent Chinese esports organization Royal Never Give-Up (RNG) and its founder, Yao “Baixing” Jincheng, to pay ¥162,118,224 RMB, approximately $22.5 million USD.
- The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court ordered esports organization Royal Never Give-Up (RNG) and its founder, Yao “Baixing” Jincheng, to pay ¥162,118,224 RMB ($22.5 million USD) to an undisclosed plaintiff on June 18, 2025.
- This ruling is the first of at least 10 pending legal disputes against RNG, with industry insiders estimating total potential claims could exceed ¥1 billion ($140 million).
- The legal action involves allegations of back pay, contract violations, and loan defaults, signaling severe financial instability for the organization.
Chengdu, China, to Host Dota 2 BLAST Slam in November
The city of Chengdu, China, is set to host the Dota 2 BLAST Slam in November 2025.
- The Chengdu Sports Bureau has confirmed that the Dota 2 BLAST Slam will be hosted in Chengdu, China, this November.
- This event marks the first international Dota 2 tournament to be held in China since the pandemic.
- The tournament will be operated locally by the state-owned Chengdu Broadcasting Company.
New Global Sport Conference 2025: Speakers Revealed
The Esports World Cup Foundation has announced the speaker lineup and thematic focus for the 2025 New Global Sport Conference, a business-to-business event scheduled for August 23–24, 2025, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- The New Global Sport Conference (NGSC2025) will take place August 23–24, 2025, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, following the Esports World Cup.
- The conference theme is 'The Next Game – Building the Future of Gaming, Esports, and Sports,' focusing on B2B discussions across the gaming, entertainment, and sports sectors.
- Confirmed speakers include high-level executives from major global organizations such as Sony, Disney, Activision, Sega, Bandai Namco, CBS Sports, and BITKRAFT Ventures.
Riot Games Launches League of Legends Game Changers for Women in EMEA
Riot Games has introduced League of Legends Game Changers (LGC), a new competitive initiative dedicated to supporting and highlighting women in the esports industry across the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.
- Riot Games has launched League of Legends Game Changers (LGC), a new competitive initiative in the EMEA region designed to support and increase visibility for women in esports.
- The inaugural tournament, LGC Rising, is scheduled to begin in August 2025.
- The LGC Rising tournament will conclude with a live Grand Final held at Paris Games Week in October 2025.
Wolves Esports Secures Multi-Million Dollar Strategic Investment from Chongqing Green Development Group
Wolves Esports, the competitive gaming division of the English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and its parent company, Fosun Sports, has secured a multi-million dollar strategic investment from the Chongqing Green Development Group.
- Wolves Esports has secured a multi-million dollar strategic investment from the Chongqing Green Development Group, a state-owned enterprise in China's Bishan District.
- The funding will support the completion of a 10,000-square-meter, 2,000-seat esports arena in Bishan, which is scheduled to open by late 2025 with a project cost of ¥200 million ($27.82 million).
- This investment strengthens the partnership between Wolves Esports' parent company, Fosun Sports, and local Chinese government entities to expand competitive infrastructure and the digital economy.
Valorant Star TenZ Joins Red Bull Athlete Roster
Tyson "TenZ" Ngo, a prominent professional Valorant player, has officially joined the Red Bull athlete roster.
- Tyson 'TenZ' Ngo, a prominent Valorant professional with over 14 million social media followers, has joined the Red Bull athlete roster.
- The partnership was brokered by the talent representation firm Prodigy Agency.
- As a Red Bull athlete, TenZ will utilize Red Bull Media House resources to produce high-quality content, including documentaries, video features, and live streams.
Huya Expands Esports Presence with $140K Dota 2 Immortal Cup
The Chinese livestreaming platform Huya is strategically expanding its role in the esports industry by transitioning from a pure streaming service to a direct organizer of high-profile competitive events.
- Chinese streaming platform Huya is hosting the 'Immortal Cup' Dota 2 tournament on June 14-15, 2025, at the Yang Cheng Hu Esports Center in Suzhou.
- The tournament features a prize pool of ¥1 million RMB (approximately $140,000 USD) and includes retired professional players and streamers from both Huya and rival platform Douyu.
- Local fan demand for the event was high, with all 2,000 tickets for the venue selling out within seven minutes.
Riot Games Taps T/SQUARED for Strategic EMEA Commercial Partnership
Riot Games has entered into a strategic commercial partnership with T/SQUARED, a marketing agency established by TEAM Group in 2023.
- Riot Games has appointed T/SQUARED, a marketing agency under TEAM Group, as its primary commercial partner for the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) and the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) EMEA.
- T/SQUARED will lead sponsorship sales and business development efforts for both leagues, including all related esports events and official broadcast feeds.
- The partnership aims to drive commercial growth across the EMEA region by leveraging T/SQUARED's expertise to secure new brand agreements.
IESF Reverses Prize Pool Deduction Amid Transparency Concerns
The International Esports Federation (IESF) has committed to distributing the full prize amounts for the 2024 World Esports Championship (WEC) held in Riyadh, effectively reversing a previous decision to withhold 15% of the funds.
- The International Esports Federation (IESF) has reversed its decision to withhold 15% of prize money from the 2024 World Esports Championship (WEC) following intense pressure from national federations.
- The IESF attributed the initial payout reduction to accounting discrepancies and timing issues regarding financial reconciliation with its Saudi hosts.
- The controversy escalated after several national federations, led by Portugal, publicly accused the IESF of mismanagement and discriminatory payment practices.
Esports World Cup Foundation Signs Deal With Amazon Ads
The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has entered into a three-year strategic partnership with Amazon Ads to expand the global reach and promotional efforts of the Saudi Arabian government-funded Esports World Cup.
- The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has signed a three-year strategic partnership with Amazon Ads to promote the Saudi-funded Esports World Cup in Western and global markets.
- The agreement integrates Esports World Cup content across multiple Amazon platforms, including live broadcasts on Twitch, an original docuseries on Prime Video, voice integrations via Alexa, and content through Wondery.
- The partnership expands upon a 2024 collaboration that previously established an Esports World Cup Hub on Amazon’s regional sites in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Theta Labs Team With Gen.G for AI Chatbot
Global esports organization Gen.G has entered into a partnership with Theta Labs to launch a bilingual conversational AI mascot, Genrang.bot.
- Gen.G has partnered with Theta Labs to launch a bilingual AI mascot chatbot named Genrang.bot, designed to provide fans with team data, match information, and trivia.
- The AI chatbot is currently live and accessible to the public via Gen.G’s official website and its Discord server.
- Genrang.bot is powered by Theta EdgeCloud, a decentralized infrastructure that utilizes over 30,000 distributed edge nodes to provide 80 PetaFLOPS of GPU compute power.
GRID Brings CCT Dota Season 2 to South America and Europe
GRID Esports has announced the expansion of its Champion of Champions Tour (CCT) Dota 2 tournament series into South America, alongside a continued presence in Europe.
- GRID Esports is launching the Champion of Champions Tour (CCT) Dota Season 2, featuring a total prize pool of $400,000 across Europe and South America.
- The tournament series will consist of 12 total events, with eight events in Europe and four in South America running from June 9, 2025, through April 2026.
- Prize pools are tiered by region, with European events offering $40,000 each and South American events offering $20,000 each.