Support Ling “Mark” Xu and mid laner Su “Xiye” Han-Wei have officially joined LGD Gaming again, the Chinese League of Legends team announced on Weibo . Both players left LGD in December 2020. Mark was last seen playing with Bilibili Gaming, the team he joined after his first stint with LGD ended. BLG had an average campaign (11th) in the last split of the LPL, the professional division of China. As for Xiye, the mid laner had been a part of JD Gaming since December. JDG made it into the 2021 LPL Spring Split playoffs, earning a top-six placing. LGD did worse than BLG in the 2021 LPL Spring Split, finishing near the bottom of the standings with just four wins and 12 losses. This poor performance in the spring may have prompted the org to sign the two former players for the second split of the 2021 season. During their first stint with LGD, Mark and Xiye helped the team achieve some notable results, such as finishing sixth in the 2020 LPL Summer Split and grabbing a top-four placing in the playoffs. LGD made it to Worlds 2020, the biggest event of the year in League esports, but earned a top-12 placing. It’s unclear if the Chinese organization will make any more roster changes ahead of the start of the 2021 LPL Summer Split. But bringing back Mark and Xiye could be what the team needs to have a better campaign and fight for a spot at Worlds once more. Make sure to follow us on  YouTube  for more esports news and analysis. [embedded content]
A first-person shooter game is all about the arsenal of guns that you can play with. And Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has plenty of options. Black Ops Cold War has everything from assault rifles and submachine guns to tactical rifles and rocket launchers. There’s something for everyone in this game. And now with the Gunsmith, the weapons are customizable so anyone can find their favorite tool of the trade. Equipping weapons with different attachments can change them dramatically. With many more weapons expected to be added over time, here are all of the weapons in Black Ops Cold War right now. Assault rifles
Pokémon Sword and Shield players can finally complete their set of Gigantamax starters with the latest June update coming to Pokémon Home. The update coming in June will give players the opportunity to receive both Squirtle and Bulbasaur as Mystery Gifts within the Pokémon Home app and also in both Sword and Shield games for Switch. With a Gigantimax Charmander supplied by Leon when players become the champion in Sword and Shield, this Mystery Gift is the only way to collect the remaining two original starter Pokémon. Along with these gifts, the June update to Pokémon Home will provide some optimization options that will make it easier for players to sort their Pokémon. One of these features is the Catch Calendar. This will give users to ability to sort their Pokémon by the date that they were caught. You’ll also be able to set dates to celebrate milestones or special events with your Pokémon, such as birthdays or the day they were caught. Another feature in this update will give players an opportunity to check out Pokémon in their collection from angles that weren’t possible before. Players can do this through a new camera feature inside the Pokedex mode. With dates announced for upcoming Pokémon titles later in 2021 and to begin 2022, the Pokémon Home app will likely see some more updates throughout the year. It’s unclear how long these Mystery Gifts will be available, so if you plan on adding Gigantimax Bulbasaur and Squirtle to your collection, you may want to claim them as soon as they’re released in June. After spending a season away from the pro stage, Top Esports’ head coach Crescent has returned to help the team take over the 2021 LPL Summer Split. In a funny reveal video, Crescent arrived back at the TES headquarters dressed in summer vacation attire only to get right back down to business in his normal suit. He first joined the organization in 2018, and now, he’s got plenty of work ahead of him to try to help the team return to the apex of the Chinese League of Legends scene. The last time Crescent coached TES, the team finished the 2020 Summer Split in first place with a 13-3 record. He helped guide the super-charged roster to their first LPL championship with a series win over JD Gaming. Afterward, he and his team reached the semifinals at the 2020 World Championship before being eliminated by fellow LPL squad and underdog, Suning. Without Crescent coaching TES during the spring, the team struggled a bit more on Summoner’s Rift. During the 2021 LPL Spring Split, the management brought on former Flash Wolves and FunPlus Phoenix head coach WarHorse, but he couldn’t emulate the same success he found when he won Worlds. TES ended the spring regular season in third place and were knocked out of the playoffs early by Royal Never Give Up. This season, TES’ roster will look to recapture their former glory with their former coach. The lineup still boasts some of the most mechanically gifted players in the world, including stars like JackeyLove, Karsa, and knight. It would be a huge disappointment to their fans if they missed out on a finals appearance once more, but Crescent is back to help TES make a deep playoff run heading into Worlds 2021. Make sure to follow us on  YouTube  for more esports news and analysis. [embedded content]
A number of Apex Legends players reported 10-minute abandon penalties for leaving finished Arenas matches. And Respawn has a temporary solution. Today’s small update temporarily disabled leaver penalties in Arenas, with a fix for the issue scheduled for “later this week,” according to the Respawn Twitter account. Director of communications Ryan Rigney further explained the bug, saying it “had to do with game logic after everyone on the opposing Arenas team left the match.”
This problem had to do with game logic after everyone on the opposing Arenas team left the match. Basically you’d sometimes still get a leaver penalty after leaving the empty game. It’s one of those things that never showed up in playtesting. Dumb bug! Fix should be p quick. https://t.co/45zm3Kzmeq
Players who left an empty match would sometimes receive a 10-minute penalty. But another player was issued a punishment for quitting a match after two of their teammates had already abandoned the game. The system error is likely the culprit for that scenario as well. A May 24 Apex patch added abandon penalties to Arenas, working similarly to how they do in ranked battle royale matches. But it seems like a bug slipped through the cracks despite it never showing up in playtests, according to Rigney. Respawn will inform fans when the leaver penalties are restored later this week. Make sure to follow us on YouTube for more Apex Legends news and analysis. [embedded content]

Mark, Xiye return to LGD Gaming

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Trinity Wu, head of overseas marketing of LGD Gaming told The Esports Observer that the partnership will focus on improving players’ gaming experience through LG Display products, especially promoting LG’s OLEG Display. LGD Gaming competes in League of Legends , Dota 2 , Honor of Kings , Peacekeeper Elite , and Hearthstone . Alongside LG Display, LGD Gaming currently has two more sponsors, social media Bixin and Chinese hardware brand ThundeRobot.

LG Display Sponsors LGD Gaming LPL Team

Chinese esports organization LGD Gaming has signed Chinese Peacekeeper Elite player Mi “Cheng C” Jiacheng for ￥11.78M RMB ($1.82M USD) from the player transfer market. LGD Gaming confirmed the figure, also adding that Jiacheng has become the first “￥10M player,” and the transfer price also became the new record in Peacekeeper Elite history. The length and duration of the contract were not disclosed. According to Chinese esports publication People Esports, the initial bidding price of the player was ￥4.5M ($700K), and LGD Gaming won the bid in $1.82M after ten rounds. Last year, China’s top Peacekeeper Elite competition, Peace Elite League (PEL) featured ￥21M ($3M) for the third season. In November of 2020, Tencent also committed to investing ￥200M ($30.4M) in reinforcing the Peacekeeper Elite esports ecosystem in 2021.

LGD Gaming Signs Peacekeeper Elite Player Cheng C for $1.82M

Last week was significant for League of Legends esports, and Chinese live streaming platforms as DouYu and Huya revealed more details on their merger. The League of Legends World Championship (Worlds 2020) finally concluded its group stage and will start the knockout stage Thursday. Riot Games and TJ Sports also announced a live-audience plan for Worlds final, with 6,312 free tickets and a strict verification and safety process to fulfill COVID-19 restrictions and avoid ticket scalping. In addition, the League of Legends mobile game League of Legends: Wild Rift was also featured at Apple ’s iPhone 12 demonstration during a press conference Tuesday. Another MOBA esports title, Dota 2, also embraced its 10-year anniversary, and a new highest prize pool tournament record for The International was set, surpassing $40M USD in prize money. However, both Chinese and Western Dota 2 communities expressed disappointment with Valve for not providing support to the current ecosystem. Several Chinese esports leaders revealed that Valve declined offers of support from the Shanghai government to host The International there in April/May. Related posts:
Among the top stories in China’s esports industry: Over 3M people registered online for the chance to attend the Worlds Final; LGD Gaming faced death threats and harassment for failing to qualify during the knockout stage at Worlds; and TJ Sports partnered with China Post to produce Worlds exclusive merchandise. More Than 3M People Register to Attend League of Legends World Championship Finals
Credit: TJ Sports/Riot Games
On Oct.12, TJ Sports opened the online registration for live audiences in the Worlds 2020 Final. It took only four hours to hit the first 1M registrants, and 12 hours to hit close to 2M. The final number of registrants on the Oct.14 deadline was approximately 3.2M. Only 6,312 of those 3.2M people will eventually attend the Worlds Final as members of a live audience. The selection possibility is only 0.19%, which means selecting one  “winner” from approximately 520 people. Last Saturday, TJ Sports announced it would allow 6,312 live audience members at Worlds Final for free, and the selection process would be supervised by Shanghai Jingan Notary Office. The final results will be announced on the League of Legends official website. The confirmed live audience members will be identified by their Chinese ID cards, passports (if they are from outside of China), and temperature and facial recognition checks on Oct.31 at the gate. TJ sports repeatedly emphasized that the ticket can not be transferred or resold to others, to avoid tickets being resold by scalpers. However, scalpers still posted their bulk ticket information on Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao, with a single ticket for a maximum price of ¥30K RMB ($4.5K), and ¥7.5K ($1.1K) for 100% winning the selection process, according to a report by Chinese business outlet The Paper . In fact, it’s almost impossible that scalpers can achieve their promise to overcome facial recognition, and bypass the supervision of Riot Games , TJ Sports, and Shanghai Jingan Notary Office. The Esports Observer has reached out to TJ Sports, who declined to comment at the time of writing. LGD Gaming Received Death Threats, Harassment for Knockout Stage Performance at Worlds 
Credit: Yicun Liu/ LGD Gaming
Last week, three League of Legends Pro League teams, three League of Legends Champions Korea teams, and two League of Legends European Championship teams eventually qualified for the knockout stage of Worlds. However, the fourth seed of LPL, LGD Gaming didn’t qualify for the knockout stage and faced a strong and hostile response from extreme fans. According to LGD Gaming’s Weibo statement, some fans went so far as to send death threats to LGD Gaming’s headquarters and harass LGD staff via phone. LGD states that this behavior from the community has disrupted the organization’s regular operations, threatened players’ safety and mental health. LGD has contacted lawyers, and is working with law enforcement. “We understand a few fans were disappointed that we didn’t achieve a further step in Worlds, but the Internet should not be a place to spread hate, and individuals should take responsibility for what he/she says,” LGD Gaming stated on its Weibo. TJ Sports Partners With China Post to Sell Worlds- Related Merchandise
Credit: China Post
On Oct. 10 , China Post announced that the company partnered with TJ Sports for the Worlds 10-year anniversary. The two companies will provide exclusive 5K gift boxes, featuring Worlds-related including 12 stamps, six postcards, and a gift coin. The gift box presell has started on the League of Legends official T-Mall shop, Bilibili subscriber shop, as well as League of Legends Suning shop. The presell is available until Oct. 31. Other Esports Business News:
Credit: Huya/DouYu/Tencent
Chinese esports organization Suning Esports signed a sponsorship deal with China’s second-largest food delivery service Eleme for its League of Legends team. The Eleme logo will be featured on the right shoulder of the team jersey during Worlds 2020. Chinese live streaming platforms DouYu and Huya announced Monday that the two have officially agreed to a merger. The combination is expected to close during the first half of 2021. DouYu CEO Shaojie Chen and Huya CEO Rongjie Dong will act as co-CEOs. In addition, Tencent will also integrate its own streaming platform Penguin Esports into DouYu through a deal with Tencent for $500M. According to LGD Gaming CEO Pan “RURU” Jie and Imba TV co-founder Zhou “Haitao” Lingxiang, Dota 2 developer Valve was offered and rejected an opportunity by Perfect World and the Shanghai government to host The International in the city again this year.

More Than 3M Register to Attend LoL World Championship Final, LGD Gaming Received Death Threats for Knockout Stage Performance

While most people in China have embraced their eight-day vacation for the Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese National Day on Thursday, the Chinese esports industry could not take a break during the double holiday. Last week, the esports industry in China put its eyes on two Chinese teams: LGD Gaming and Hong Kong team PSG.Talon during the League of Legends World Championship play-in stage. Both teams qualified in the main event and became part of the final 16 teams in the competition. As one of the few large-scale international sports events in 2020, the League of Legends World Championship has attracted a lot of attention from brands and sponsors, as well as the teams that are competing in the event. After LGD Gaming and TOP Esports (TES) signed multiple non-endemic brands in our last china esports recap, the two organizations continued to sign even more partnership deals last week. Among the top stories in China’s esports industry: Nike unveiled its newest esports commercial, “A greater ambition depends on a stronger body;”  the LGD Gaming League of Legends team signed three separate partnership deals; TOP Esports’ League of Legends team signed a sponsorship deal with Logitech G for the World Championship; and Tencent announced plans to add $3M USD in prize money for the third season of Peace Elite League (PEL). Related posts:
Credit: Nike
On Sept.28, China’s League of Legends Pro League (LPL) exclusive apparel sponsor Nike unveiled its newest esports commercial, “A greater ambition depends on a stronger body,” on Chinese social media Weibo. The commercial features LPL former player Jian “Uzi” Zihao and LPL host Duan “Candice” Yushuang, as well as iconic “memes” from the Chinese League of Legends esports scene. The 90-second commercial aims to call for the importance of a good diet and physical exercise in esports. As a part of Nike’s four-year sponsorship deal with LPL, the company will not only provide exclusive apparel and footwear products for LPL players, coaches, and staff, but also physical training and rehabilitation plans. In 2019 , Nike released a League of Legends documentary to raise awareness about injuries related to playing esports professionally. The documentary also featured Zihao, and hinted that he has serious injury concerns in his back and arm. In June, Zihao announced his retirement due to longstanding injuries and health issues. In addition, Yushuang was also featured in the background image of Nike’s official Weibo account. LGD Gaming Partners With Hisense, Bixin, and DearBoyFriend
Credit: LGD Gaming
During the League of Legends World Championship (Worlds 2020) play-in stage, LPL team LGD Gaming signed three separate partnership deals with Chinese television brand Hisense TV, social network Bixin, and men’s skincare brand DearBoyFriend, respectively. The three brands will appear on the shoulder position of LGD Gaming’s team jersey during Worlds 2020. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The last two weeks were significant for LGD Gaming’s League of Legends division. The team was almost disqualified from Worlds 2020, with a 0:2 opening match result during the play-in stage. Fortunately, the team eventually qualified in the main event, and signed multiple partnership deals with brands. Apart from those three deals, the team also signed a sponsorship with gaming laptop brand ThundeRobot, as well as Chinese car-hailing service giant Didi Chuxing for the Worlds 2020 commercial campaign in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. Logitech G Sponsors TOP Esports for League of Legends World Championship
Credit: TOP Esports
On Sept. 29, Chinese esports organization TOP Esports (TES) announced that its League of Legends team signed a sponsorship deal with hardware brand Logitech G during Worlds 2020. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. TES’ League of Legends team, which is the first seed of LPL, also recently signed three separate sponsorship deals with automaker brand FAW-Audi , Chinese yogurt brand An Mu Xi, and global apparel company PUMA , respectively. Despite the fact that most brands chose LPL fourth seed LGD Gaming and the first seed TES to sponsor, both LPL second seed Jing Dong Gaming (JDG) and third seed Suning Esports (SN) have not announced new partnerships or sponsorships. Both JDG and SN are owned by Chinese-commerce companies JingDong and Suning, respectively. Other Esports Business News:
Credit: TJ Sports/Riot Games
On Sept. 25 , Tencent announced that it added ￥21M RMB ($3M) in prize money for the third season of China’s top Peacekeeper Elite tournament, the Peace Elite League (PEL). The competition will be co-hosted by Tencent and tournament organizer VSPN and sponsored by the Chinese smartphone brand OPPO . The Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF) announced that it signed a three-year partnership deal with China’s First Automobile Works Group (FAW) for its esports competition, AESF e-Master. The competition will be hosted in Chengdu, and feature competitions in League of Legends, Arena of Valor , FIFA 2020, and Warcraft III .

Nike’s New Esports Commercial Featuring Uzi, LGD Gaming Signs Three Deals During Worlds 2020

Didi Chuxing (OTC: DIDIY) operates as a mobility technology platform. The company offers a full range of application-based transportation including ride-hailing, taxi-hailing, chauffeur, hitch, and other forms of shared mobility as well as auto solutions, food delivery, and intra-city freight services. It was formerly known as Didi Kuaidi. It was founded in 2012 and is based in Beijing, China.

Didi Chuxing

Chinese esports organization LGD Gaming has partnered with Didi Chuxing to sponsor its League of Legends team in the 2020 League of Legends World Championship in Hangzhou .

LGD Gaming League of Legends Divison Partners With Hangzhou Didi Chuxing for World Championship

DouYu (NASDAQ: DOYU), is a video game-centric live streaming platform in China. DouYu operates its platform on both PC and mobile apps, through which users can enjoy immersive and interactive games and entertainment live streaming. DouYu's platform brings together a deep pool of live streamers. By providing a sustainable streamer development system built on advanced technology infrastructure and capabilities, DouYu helps ensure a consistent supply of quality content. Through collaborations with a variety of participants across the eSports value chain, the Company has gained access to a wide variety of premium eSports content, which further attracts viewers and enhances user experience.

DouYu

Nongfu Spring (9633.HK) is a bottled water supplier.

Nongfu Spring

Paris Saint-Germain is a French soccer club.

Paris Saint-Germain

Razer is a computer peripherals manufacturer and online retailer that specializes in connected devices and software products specifically marketed to gamers. The company offers gaming systems; desktop webcams for streaming content production; peripherals, such as mice, keyboards and keypads, audio systems, controllers, licensed and team peripherals, and mouse mats; wearables; software solutions; gear, including T-shirts, jackets, hoodies, caps, and accessories, and bags and cases; and system and cord management accessories and replacement parts. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Irvine, California.

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Gaming companies are defined as those developing technologies for the PC, console, mobile, and/or AR/VR video gaming market.

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LGD Gaming is a prominent E-Sports club in China. With professional teams in many popular games such as DOTA, League of Legends, OverWatch and others. LGD regularly wins top awards in global and China professional leagues and competitions. Each online streaming competition LGD plays has millions of viewers.

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