Faker Appeared... China Live Broadcasts Only eSports Finals and Semifinals

Bloomberg, Citing Sources... Chinese Platform Companies Announce
Xi Jinping Has Addressed Youth Gaming Addiction Issues for Years

"The legend of the eSports world" and the top superstar of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, "Faker" Lee Sang-hyeok, is making his first-ever challenge for a gold medal, amid suspicions that the Chinese Communist Party leadership has instructed to partially restrict eSports match broadcasts.

On the 25th, Bloomberg News cited multiple sources familiar with the matter, reporting that major Chinese online platform companies such as Tencent and Huya were instructed to broadcast only the semifinals and finals of eSports matches like "Honor of Kings" and "League of Legends (LoL)" live.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

It appears that this directive was suddenly delivered at the last minute, as there was no such restriction as recently as the 24th. Huya, known as the Chinese version of Twitch, posted a notice without giving any specific reason, stating that group stage and quarterfinal matches would not be broadcast live, which surprised the audience who had been waiting, Bloomberg reported.

Tencent also did not release the video of the first eSports match on its streaming site and reportedly deleted user questions related to this issue.

Bloomberg suggested that one of the reasons behind the broadcast ban seems to be concerns over internet addiction. This has led to speculation that the Chinese Communist Party, which has been waging a war against internet addiction, may have intervened.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has imposed strict regulations on the gaming industry. In 2021, President Xi personally addressed the issue of youth gaming addiction, and since then, the Chinese government has introduced policies to prevent internet gaming addiction among minors. When President Xi’s third term was confirmed in October last year, the stock prices of major Chinese gaming companies fell sharply, reflecting these concerns.

eSports is the most watched sport locally. This year, eSports was officially adopted as a medal event for the first time at the Hangzhou Asian Games. In China, there is great interest as eSports superstar Lee Sang-hyeok is competing. Among the 40 events at the Asian Games, eSports tickets were sold at the highest prices, and tickets for the LoL matches featuring Lee were sold out well in advance.

Due to the Chinese authorities’ directive, not only the 400 million eSports fans in China but also broadcasters and platform companies holding the Hangzhou Asian Games broadcasting rights are bearing costs. China’s state broadcaster CCTV holds the broadcasting rights for the Asian Games held on the mainland and sells them to other platforms for profit. As the number of eSports broadcasts decreases due to government orders, revenues are expected to fall below projections.

As every move of player Lee Sang-hyeok becomes a hot topic, the issue of eSports live broadcasts is expected to continue attracting attention.

The Korean national team, featuring Lee, played preliminary matches against Hong Kong and Kazakhstan on the 25th at a secondary stadium rather than the main stadium, winning all matches. Although the games were held without spectators, media personnel flocked, showing intense interest in the player. The team is expected to play the quarterfinals against Saudi Arabia on the 27th and the semifinals the following day on the 28th. The semifinals are likely to be against China, effectively making it a final match.

Previously, Lee participated in the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games when eSports was a demonstration event but settled for a silver medal after losing to China. Lee said, "Everyone expected us to win last time, but we couldn’t, so there was some regret. This time is a new challenge. The previous matches have long lost their meaning. I will focus solely on this tournament," expressing his determination.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.