Alibaba invests $150 million in Esports
A new partnership has been signed between the Chinese mega-website Alibaba.com and the International e-Sports Federation (IeSF) with primary goal of legalizing Esports on a global stage.
Alibaba Sports Group has paired with the IeSF. The partnership has three goals: To host an event open to amateur and professional esports players, to promote esports’ recognition as a sport, and to create unspecified “unique IP.”
“As the most authoritative international organization in e-sports industry, IeSF has been committed to promoting esports movement into the mainstream, including pushing it into the Olympic Games, which is consistent with our ideal,” Zhang Dazhong, Alisports CEO, said.
That event is currently in the works with investment of nearly $150 million from Alisports, according to IeSF. The World Electronic Sports Games (WESG), hosted by Alisports with the IeSF’s endorsement, will feature more than $5.5 million in prizes.
