China’s Entry into the World of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
The esports industry is global, but one major nation has been largely absent from the competitive scene of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO).
That may be changing this year as EDward Gaming, the organization known for hosting one of China’s top League of Legends squads, recently signed a CS:GO team, according to a report by HLTV.org. Other prominent Chinese organizations like LGD Gaming, Vici Gaming, and EHOME are expected to follow suit.
The new EDward Gaming lineup includes Wang “wjw” JianWei and Han “HaoKing” ZiHao, both of whom competed in the StarSeries league in China last year. They are joined by MinHui “sPiNacH” Sun, Yi “Pohant” Ding, and Kun “ABR” Qian, a trio of relatively inexperienced players.
While this lineup may not bring immediate success or dominate the domestic scene, it marks the beginning of Counter-Strike in China. The investment by EDward Gaming suggests that China is ready to take the shooter game more seriously this year.
The team is set to make their debut in the Asian qualifier for DreamHack Masters Malmö, where they will face tough competition from local teams like CyberZen and the Mongolz, who recently won the IEM Taipei event.
Image via Valve