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