- Wild Rift soon be released as League of Legends Mobile in China
- Tencent will serve as its local publisher
- Ahead of the release, Tencent and Riot have begun planning out the game’s esports ecosystem
As the release of Wild Rift in China approaches, esports leagues start to get planned out.
Awaiting Release in China
League of Legends: Wild Rift is Riot Games’ mobile esports entry. The game is a mobile variant of the widely popular League of Legends. Wild Rift has already proven itself as one of the powerhouses in mobile esports. Riot’s mobile title currently awaits its release in China, but people have already started preparing for its coming.
Wild Rift’s release was approved in February by China’s National Press and Publication Administration. The game will be published by Tencent and will go by the name League of Legends Mobile on the Chinese market. However, Tencent is still testing it, and the official date of its release is yet to be announced.
Despite lacking a release date, Tencent is already laying the foundations of League of Legends Mobile esports. The company is collaborating with Riot Games as TJ Sports in order to prepare the stage for the game’s coming. As of now, it has planned three tracks that lead to the professional esports league:
- League of Legends Pro League track
- National competition
- Influencer track
The Three Tracks to the Professional League
The League of Legends Pro League will have 16 LPL teams play against one another over five slots for the professional league. In the National competition, on the other hand, 32 other teams will strife to grab six spots. Lastly, the influencer track will invite six influencers to an event where only one of them will have the opportunity to move on to the next stage. In total, 12 teams will be advancing to the professional league.
The best players from the LPL track will not only qualify for the professional league in China but for the Wild Rift World Championship as well. Here are the 16 LPL teams that will be playing in the LPL track:
- BiliBili Gaming
- Edward Gaming
- FunPlus Phoenix
- Invictus Gaming
- JD Gaming
- LGD Gaming
- LNG Esports
- Oh My God
- Rare Atom
- Rogue Warriors
- Royal Never Give Up
- Team WE
- ThunderTalk Gaming
- Top Esports
- Ultra Prime
- Victory Five
Even though the game is yet to be released to the public, it will be holding its first esports on July 26 and July 27. It will be called Super Burning Warm-up and will serve to prepare Chinese fans of esports for what’s to come, exactly as the title states.
Despite not having everything figured out, Wild Rift will move on and will likely continue building on its success. Its eventual release in China will open it to a whole new market, especially considering how popular mobile esports are in the country.
