Blizzard Entertainment holds first eSports international tournament in Taiwan

United States gaming company Blizzard Entertainment is seeking to capitalise on the eSports market in Asia with a NT$8.3 million (MOP2.1 million/US$273,011) prize tournament at the company’s new electronic games stadium in Taipei, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported.
Inaugurated in March, the company’s 1,653 square metre eStadium near Taiwan’s capital landmark Taipei 101 has a capacity for 250 spectators and is currently holding the Overwatch Pacific Championship, a 13-week tournament starting this month and finishing in June, involving professional eSports players from Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, Thailand and Taiwan.
In 2014, Major League Gaming (MLG) – the largest international eSports network in the world and a company owned by Activision Blizzard, Inc. – announced construction of the first-in-the-world video game destination development on Hengqin Island, with the arena accommodating a possible 15,000 attendance and scheduled to open in 2018 as part of a MOP22.21 billion (US$2.77 billion) project.
The opening will be the first step in the MSAR for eSports, a market that according to a report by marketing company Newzoo in February of this year will generate US$696 million (MOP5.57 billion) in 2017, a 43 per cent yearly increase from the year prior, with total global audiences reaching 385 million.