SEPANG: AirAsia has come on board as the official airline partner for the international esports championship tournament, World Electronic Sports Games (WESG), in the Asean region. The WESG is by Alisports, the sports branch of Alibaba Group.
According to a press statement, the sponsorship deal with Agri Mind Sdn Bhd, which includes flights, media value and cash prize, is in line with the airline’s commitment to support the region’s top talents and reaffirms its effort in digital initiatives including esports.
As the title sponsor, AirAsia’s brand would be integrated across WESG Asean’s digital platforms and tournaments. In addition, the airline would have the the opportunity to offer various ancillary products and services at the event including online store and ticketing agent, among others.
AirAsia Group Bhd executive chairman and AirAsia X Group chief executive officer Datuk Kamarudin Meranun said, “In terms of esports enthusiasts, Asean is one of the fastest growing regions in the world with 9.3 million fans, a number expected to grow 36.1 per cent every year through to 2019.
“As an innovative digital company, we are thrilled to be the title sponsor and to contribute to esports by supporting Asean’s top professional esports athletes to compete at the global tournament. We also believe this sponsorship puts us at the forefront of the expansion of esports across Asean.”
AirAsia Allstars Esports Club president Allan Phang said, “This partnership shows our growing commitment to esports. In January, we marked our first foray into esports as a special sponsor and exclusive airline partner of Mineski Pro Team.
“Two months later, we acquired a majority stake in Team Saiyan – a top-ranked professional esports team – which we have rebranded as AirAsia Saiyan. And today, we are proud to be able to bring WESG to Asean as we continue to support the region’s esports talents.”
Chairman of Agri Mind Sdn Bhd Calvin Lau added, “Agri Mind is extremely excited to be partnering with the team of dynamic individuals from Alisports and AirAsia to position WESG as the top esports tournament in the Asean region.
“By supporting grassroots development of the regional esports scene, we aim to nurture a new generation of world-class players with the skills, tenacity and work ethics to take on the best in the world.”
Alisports founder and CEO Zhang Dazhong commented, “WESG has drawn a lot of attention worldwide in the past two years. It is a great honour to have a new premium partner AirAsia to support WESG in the new 2018-2019 season.
“AirAsia has always been supportive of traditional sports and has now started a new chapter to be part of esports with Alisports’ WESG. We look forward to the WESG in Asean division with our new partner AirAsia.”
The WESG Asean online registration in each country will commence from June 1 to July 31, 2018. These 10 countries will run its own online tournaments followed by national finals (LAN) from August 1 to September 30. The Asean Regional Grand Finals will be held in November 2018 and the International Grand Finals will be held in March 2019.
Interested parties can register at sea.wesg.com/registration.