Hero Esports
Hero Esports is Asia's leading esports tournament organizer, producing 7,000+ annual competitions covering 80% of esports titles and serving game publishers (anchored by Tencent), consumer brand sponsors, and esports talent across 14 offices and 8 top-tier arenas in Asia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersJingan, China
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Hero Esports does
Hero Esports (legal name Hero Esports, Inc.; previously known as VSPO) is Asia's leading esports tournament organizer, operating an end-to-end platform that produces over 7,000 competitions annually across a portfolio covering 80% of the esports titles on market. The company is contracted by game publishers - anchored by Tencent on the King Pro League (KPL) and related mobile leagues - to deliver league operations, venue management, broadcast production, and commercialization for flagship properties including KPL, the Peacekeeper Elite League (PEL), CrossFire Professional League and Mobile League (CFML), CrossFire Stars, the PUBG Mobile Global Championship and PUBG Global Championship, the VALORANT Champions Tour, IEM China, and the Asian Champions League (ACL).
The company's underlying technology and infrastructure centers on large-scale event production rather than software IP. Capabilities include AR-driven opening ceremonies demonstrated at the KPL 2025 Grand Finals, broadcast infrastructure supporting 2,600+ hours of content per year, and a physical footprint of 8 top-tier esports arenas across Asia and 14 offices totaling 100,000+ m² of venue area. The Shanghai-based Hero Dome serves as a flagship venue for both esports and entertainment crossovers such as the Tomorrowland indoor festival. The firm also manages a talent roster of 20,000+ influencers, broadcasters and professional players including Faker and Doinb.
Hero Esports generates revenue across four streams: (1) professional-services tournament organization fees from game publishers, (2) sponsorship sales to consumer brands reaching Gen Z esports audiences, (3) ticketing and venue operations at flagship events, and (4) talent representation fees. Pricing is not publicly disclosed as publisher and sponsorship contracts are negotiated bilaterally. The firm's go-to-market is event-driven: it captures top-of-funnel audiences via flagship tournaments and 800M+ social fans, then monetizes through sponsorship, media rights, ticketing, and brand partnerships. Geographic operations span mainland China plus Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Australia.
Hero Esports firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hero Esports
- Legal name
- Hero Esports, Inc.
- Website
- https://heroesports.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Hero Esports is Asia's leading esports tournament organizer, producing 7,000+ annual competitions covering 80% of esports titles and serving game publishers (anchored by Tencent), consumer brand sponsors, and esports talent across 14 offices and 8 top-tier arenas in Asia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hero Esports industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Esports Event Management and Tournament Organization
- NAICS
- Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131), Spectator Sports (71121), Sports Teams and Clubs (711211)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Professional Esports Leagues & Circuits (MPAFADAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Esports Teams & Player Organizations (MPAFADAB), Esports Arenas & Stadium Venues (Purpose-Built Competitive Venues) (MPAFALAB), Major Championship Events & World Finals (MPAKANAE)
Keywords
Where Hero Esports is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Jingan
- HQ country
- China
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices6 records
Markets served
Hero Esports business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Tournament Organization Services: Organizing esports competitions for game publishers, including league operations, venue management, and broadcast production for leagues like KPL, PEL, CFML, and others
- Sponsorship and Commercialization: Selling sponsorship packages and marketing solutions to brands seeking to reach esports audiences. The white paper reveals 74% of esports fans report purchasing influenced by advertising in gaming spaces, making it an attractive marketing channel.
- Brand Partnerships and Co-branding: Collaborations with brands for esports team, game, or player partnerships. Research shows 66% of esports fans have purchased products following such collaborations.
- Event Ticketing and Venue Operations: Hosting large-scale esports events with ticket sales, including flagship events at major venues like Beijing's National Stadium
- Talent Management: Managing and representing esports talent including over 20,000 online influencers, broadcasters, and pro players including Faker and Doinb
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Hero Esports product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hero Esports organizes and operates esports tournaments and leagues (KPL, PEL, CFML, VALORANT Champions Tour, PUBG Global Championship, IEM China, ACL, and others), producing over 7,000 competitions annually covering 80% of esports titles on the market. The company provides end-to-end tournament organization, commercialization and sponsorship services for game publishers and brands, and talent management for 20,000+ esports players, broadcasters and influencers, while operating 8 top-tier esports arenas including the Hero Dome venue in Shanghai.
Product overview
Hero Esports is Asia's leading esports company operating a comprehensive platform of tournament organization, commercialization, and talent management services. The company organizes over 7,000 esports competitions annually across its portfolio of flagship tournaments including the King Pro League (KPL), Peacekeeper Elite League (PEL), CrossFire Professional League, CrossFire Mobile League (CFML), CrossFire Stars, PUBG Mobile Global Championship, PUBG Global Championship, VALORANT Champions Tour, IEM China, and Asian Champions League (ACL). This portfolio represents 80% of esports titles on the market. The company operates 8 top-tier esports arenas including the Hero Dome venue in Shanghai, and provides commercialization services for sponsors and brands, along with talent management representing over 20,000 influencers and pro players. The company broadcasts over 2,600 hours of content annually, reaching more than 800 million fans worldwide.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ACL: Asian Champions League - major esports tournament organized by Hero Esports
- Hero Dome
Products and services
- King Pro League (KPL) Premier mobile esports league for Honor of Kings, featuring professional teams competing in the top-tier mobile MOBA competition in Asia. A flagship tournament operated by Hero Esports in partnership with Tencent Games.
- Peacekeeper Elite League (PEL) Professional mobile esports league for Peacekeeper Elite (Game for Peace), featuring competitive FPS gameplay across top Asian teams. Flagship mobile FPS tournament operated by Hero Esports.
- CrossFire Professional League Elite competitive league for CrossFire, one of the most popular FPS games in Asia. A flagship PC FPS tournament organized and operated by Hero Esports.
- CrossFire Mobile League (CFML) Mobile esports league for CrossFire Mobile, bringing the popular FPS franchise to competitive mobile gaming. Organized by Hero Esports.
- CrossFire Stars Top-tier CrossFire esports tournament featuring elite professional teams from across Asia. A flagship CrossFire competition operated by Hero Esports.
- PUBG Mobile Global Championship Premier global mobile esports championship for PUBG Mobile, featuring the world's top mobile battle royale teams. A flagship mobile battle royale tournament organized by Hero Esports.
- PUBG Global Championship Elite global esports championship for PUBG (PC/console), showcasing top battle royale teams worldwide. A flagship global tournament operated by Hero Esports.
- VALORANT Champions Tour Premier VALORANT esports circuit operated by Hero Esports, featuring top teams competing at the highest level of tactical shooter competition. A flagship tactical shooter tournament.
- IEM China Intel Extreme Masters event in China, part of the world's premier professional esports tournament circuit. A flagship PC esports event operated by Hero Esports.
- Asian Champions League (ACL) Major Asian esports championship organized by Hero Esports, featuring elite competition across multiple game titles. A flagship multi-title championship.
- Hero Dome State-of-the-art esports arena venue along the Shanghai Bund waterfront, serving as the primary venue for major esports events and entertainment productions including Tomorrowland China. Operated by Hero Esports.
- Tournament Organisation Services End-to-end esports tournament organization services including event planning, production, broadcasting, and operations management for leagues and tournaments. Sold to game publishers and rights holders.
- Commercialisation Services Marketing and commercial solutions for esports properties, including sponsorship activation, brand partnerships, and revenue optimization for teams and leagues. Sold to game publishers, teams, and consumer brands.
- Talent Management Services Management and representation services for esports players, broadcasters, and influencers, including over 20,000 online influencers and pro players such as Faker and Doinb. Provides talent roster, sponsorship matching, and content production support.
Quantifiable outcome
- Guinness World Record for largest attendance at an esports match: 62,196 attendees at KPL 2025 Grand Finals
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Hero Esports
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Hero Esports technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Hero Esports partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.
- ESL FACEIT GroupcoreJoint release of white paper on Gen Z esports engagement with Niko Partners, surveying 8,000 fans across eight global markets. The research reveals 400 million Gen Z consumers engage with esports and 74% report purchasing influenced by advertising in gaming spaces.
- Niko PartnerscoreJoint release of white paper on Gen Z esports engagement with ESL FACEIT Group, surveying 8,000 fans across eight global markets. Research provides market insights on esports as a marketing channel.
- QualcommcoreQualcomm signed a strategic partnership with Hero Esports to expand adoption of Snapdragon 8 Series mobile platform across China's top mobile esports competitions including KPL, PEL, CFML, and QQ Speed Mobile S League. This is Qualcomm's first multi-league esports deal in China, extending from its existing KPL role since 2021 to cover MOBA, FPS, and racing genres, all running on Android devices.
- INS LandmajorPartnership with INS Land (Shanghai nightlife complex ranked #12 in DJ Mag Top 100 Clubs 2026) for hosting major esports events and Tomorrowland China events at the Hero Dome venue along Shanghai Bund waterfront.
- TomorrowlandmajorCo-organization of The Magic of Tomorrowland indoor electronic music festival at Hero Dome in Shanghai. The 2025 edition had 10,000 capacity, and the 2026 edition expands to two days (October 17-18) with co-organizers including INS Land and Budweiser.
- BudweisersupportingCo-organizer of Tomorrowland China events with Hero Esports, INS Land, contributing brand activations and sponsorship to the indoor electronic music festival.
- Tencent GamescoreStrategic partnership organizing KPL (Honor of Kings King Pro League) Grand Finals and other major esports competitions. Hero Esports and Tencent jointly organized the 2025 KPL Grand Finals at Beijing's National Stadium.
- Faker (Lee Sang-hyeok)supportingTop-tier esports pro player represented by Hero Esports among the 20,000+ influencers, broadcasters and pro players in their talent roster.
- Doinb (Kim Tae-sang)supportingTop-tier esports pro player represented by Hero Esports among the 20,000+ influencers, broadcasters and pro players in their talent roster.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Hero Esports competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- BLAST: Global esports tournament organizer for CS, Valorant, Dota 2 and Rainbow Six, with stadium-scale finals across Europe and beyond. Closely comparable to Hero Esports' model of operating premium live tournaments with strong broadcast and sponsorship infrastructure.
- ESL FACEIT Group: World's largest esports tournament and competitive gaming platform operator (CS, Dota 2, etc.), owned by Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group/PIF. Directly comparable to Hero Esports as a third-party organizer of premium global esports events, with which Hero also co-publishes research via the joint Gen Z white paper.
- EVO (Evolution Championship Series): Premier fighting game esports tournament organizer now owned by a Sony/RTS joint venture. Comparable to Hero Esports as a large-scale event-focused organizer with strong brand and community franchises, though specialized in FGC rather than mobile/PC.
- PGL: Romanian-based esports tournament organizer running majors and tier-1 events for CS, Dota 2, and other titles. Comparable to Hero Esports in operating large-scale, broadcast-grade esports competitions under publisher contracts.
Broad incumbents
- Krafton: Publisher of PUBG and PUBG Mobile that runs PUBG Mobile Global Championship and PUBG Global Championship, often with Hero Esports as operating partner. Relevant as the publisher-counterparty whose first-party tournament strategy influences Hero's contract pipeline.
- Riot Games: Publisher of League of Legends and Valorant, operating its own global leagues and circuits (LCS, LEC, LCK, VCT). Comparable to Hero Esports as the dominant organizer for its titles in Asia, and represents both a partner and the structural risk of publisher disintermediation.
- Activision Blizzard (Microsoft Gaming): Publisher of Overwatch, Call of Duty, and other esports titles that operates first-party leagues (OWL, CDL). Relevant to Hero as both a publisher-counterparty candidate and a structural example of publisher-led event operations.
- Tencent Esports: Esports arm of Tencent Holdings and Hero Esports' largest customer/partner for KPL and other Chinese mobile leagues. Comparable as a large-scale tournament and league organizer in the Chinese market, with overlapping role as publisher-affiliated event infrastructure.
Emerging players
- Gamers8 / Saudi Esports Federation: State-backed Saudi esports festival and league hub competing for global tournament IP and sponsor dollars. Comparable to Hero Esports in hosting flagship events at scale (e.g., Esports World Cup) and competing for sponsorship and media rights budgets.
- Ninjas in Pyjamas (NIP Group): Swedish-Chinese esports organization (NIP Group, listed on Nasdaq) operating teams, events, and content businesses across multiple titles. Comparable to Hero Esports' talent and event portfolio though at smaller scale and with a Western-Chinese hybrid footprint.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat7 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Hero Esports social profiles
Digital presenceHero Esports financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hero Esports leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Hero Esports funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hero Esports M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Hero Esports
What does Hero Esports do?
Hero Esports organizes and operates esports tournaments and leagues (KPL, PEL, CFML, VALORANT Champions Tour, PUBG Global Championship, IEM China, ACL, and others), producing over 7,000 competitions annually covering 80% of esports titles on the market. The company provides end-to-end tournament organization, commercialization and sponsorship services for game publishers and brands, and talent management for 20,000+ esports players, broadcasters and influencers, while operating 8 top-tier esports arenas including the Hero Dome venue in Shanghai.
Is Hero Esports a public or private company?
Hero Esports is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Hero Esports founded?
Hero Esports was founded in 2016. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Hero Esports based?
Hero Esports is headquartered in Jingan, China, in the Asia region.
How does Hero Esports make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Tournament Organization Services are the primary driver. The others are sponsorship and Commercialization, brand Partnerships and Co-branding, event Ticketing and Venue Operations and talent Management.
Who are Hero Esports's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are BLAST, ESL FACEIT Group, EVO (Evolution Championship Series) and PGL. Broad incumbents are Krafton, Riot Games, Activision Blizzard (Microsoft Gaming) and Tencent Esports. Emerging players are Gamers8 / Saudi Esports Federation and Ninjas in Pyjamas (NIP Group).
Does Hero Esports have an API?
No public API is recorded for Hero Esports.
What industry is Hero Esports in?
Hero Esports's product category is Esports Event Management and Tournament Organization. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFADAA, Professional Esports Leagues & Circuits, with a secondary code of MPAFADAB, Esports Teams & Player Organizations. Its NAICS code is 71131 and its SIC code is 7900.