Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum (DELF) attracts over 700 participants

Cyberport’s esports venue officially unveiled to tap into global esports craze

HONG KONG, CHINA – Media OutReach – 16 JULY 2019 – To jump onto the global esports bandwagon, Cyberport hosted the Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum (DELF) today at the all-new esports venue located at Arcade@Cyberport, with an attendance of over 700 on the one-day main forum.

With a vision to enrich participants understanding the development of esports and digital entertainment, the DELF main forum gathered esports icons and influencers, industry elites and celebrity gamers to decode the global prospects of the industry andassess regional dynamics and market trends. The event also featured a host of invitational competition starring celebrity and pro gamers. Developers, tech firms and gaming accessories makers have showcased their latest e-sports technologies and products and gave attendees a comprehensive understanding of the development of esports and digital entertainment.

Carrying the theme “Powering up a Vibrant Esports Ecosystem”, DELF gathered more than 40 international and local specialists, who took part in more than 30 sessions to explore to explore how the esports value chain can be further extended, share experiences in developing esports in different regional markets, and how the esports industry can be developed across the Greater Bay Area (GBA) through industry collaborations. The objective is to foster e-sports development in Hong Kong and across the region from different perspectives. DELF 2019 also marked the kick-off of “DE*Spark”, a two-week digital entertainment extravaganza to enhance the public and business community’s understanding of the esports and digital entertainment industry through a series of forums, events and an experience day.

The opening ceremony of DELF 2019 was officiated by Nicholas Yang, Secretary for Innovation and Technology of the Hong Kong SAR Government and Victor Lam, Government Chief Information Officer, together with Peter Yan, CEO of Cyberport.

In his opening remarks, Yan said Cyberport is now partnering with Hong Kong Esports Premier League to host what would be the first city-wide esports league, which serves as a training platform for professional and amateur players alike. The final would be held in December at Cyberport. He also revealed that Cyberport had received more than 50 applications for he esports venue and nearly half of them had been approved.

With all the bookings ahead of its opening date, the esports venue would host a variety of events every week over the coming nine months, Yan added that  he is confident that Cyberport will be able to turn Hong Kong into an esports and digital entertainment hub.

DELF was joined by more than 40 international and regional esports heavyweights as keynote speakers–including guests from the UK, Israel, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and Mainland China. Among the speakers were Afif Bahardin, Penang State Executive Councillor from Malaysia; Hans Jagnow, President of ESBD – German Esports Federation; Samart Assarasakorn, Executive Secretary to President of Thailand Esports Federation, and Ido Brosh, President of Israeli e-Sports Association shared their views on “Global Exchange: Blooming Esports in the Region”; Derek Cheung, Chairman of Hong Kong eSports Federation; Eric Yeung, President of Esports Association Hong Kong and Mario Ho, President of Macao E-sports Federation gave a heated discussion on ” GBA Opportunities: Hong Kong’s Esports, Ready to Fly High”. Cheolhag Kim, Secretary General of Korea e-Sports Association; Yuya Tanida, Representative Director, CEO of WellPlayed, Inc., and Shigenori Araki, Managing Corporate Officer of Capcom Co., Ltd. shared their views on the trend and development of e-sports in Japan and Korea.

The brand new esports venue was brought to life by a series of intense battles between the dream teams and celebrity gamers.The celebrity tournament featured a “League of Legends” match between Panda Cute, Hong Kong’s first all-female e-sports team, and Korean champions Rox Caracal. A team from TVB’s eSports Central programme also challenged the pro esports team Nova eSports on the FIFA field.

As well as the insightful speeches and panel discussions, visitors also got a chance to enjoy a first-hand esports experience through the three experience areas, which are themed as the Game Zone, Tech Zone and Venturer Zone.

These thematic zones included a showcase of the newest product developments and innovations in esports by Cyberport start-ups and other Hong Kong companies. Leading esports entrepreneurs and representatives from higher education institutions also shared insights into the future of esports, engaging with such topics as entrepreneurship, professional development and cyber wellness. DELF as a whole presents an opportunity to bring the esports community together each year to share ideas and experiences in ways that inspire new partnerships and innovative solutions to drive Hong Kong’s esports growth.

DE*Spark to lead a new era of entertainment

In addition to the one-day main forum, Cyberport will continue to trigger the esports and digital entertainment fever throughout the second half of July. DELF main forum will be immediately followed by Asia’s first Blockchain Gamer Connects summit on 17-18 July in Cyperport. This international conference, which was well received in San Francisco, Helsinki and London, provides opportunities for market players of mobile games and the blockchain industry to expand collaboration and business opportunities.

Following this comes a series of themed events to be held in late July, including the competitive LoL Campus League 2019 Finals, Seniors’ Esports & Experience Day, and the latest edition of the annual calendar highlight Hong Kong e-Sports & Music Festival — collectively facilitating the development of esports and digital entertainment in Hong Kong.

DELF main forum videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebIVMfQu8RA&feature=youtu.be (Morning session)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLdGstXzEHA&feature=youtu.be (Afternoon session)

For more information and the latest events, please visit: http://delf.cyberport.hk/

For information about “DE*Spark”, please visit: https://delf.cyberport.hk/en/de-spark