Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum (DELF) to be staged at Cyberport�s new esports venue in July

Two-week �DE*Spark” series packs exhilarating esports matches and activities for all

 

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 24 June
2019 – Fulfilling Cyberport’s
mission to drive robust growth of the regional esports and digital
entertainment industry, Cyberport today
announces the launch of the Digital
Entertainment Leadership Forum (DELF). Staged on 16 July, DELF will gather esports
icons and influencers, industry elites and celebrity gamers to decode the
global prospects of the industry, tap into regional dynamics and market trends,
and examine the development of esports and digital entertainment from all
angles — as well as hosting hotly anticipated live celebrity esports games.

DELF will also kick off the two-week “DE*Spark” series in July — an all-new
esports extravaganza which includes forums, competitions and experience day to help
enhance the business community and  public’s understanding of the esports and
digital entertainment industry.

Professional gamers from Japan and South Korea
compete live

DELF 2019 is the first esports focused
international forum to be hosted in
Hong Kong, and will serve as the grand opening of Cyberport’s brand new esports
venue. Boasting the theme “Powering up a Vibrant Esports Ecosystem”, a
dynamic program of keynote speeches and panel discussions will welcome regional specialists from all over the world. Experts from the
UK, Israel, Germany, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia
and Mainland China, together with local professionals, will shine the spotlight on hot
topics across the esports ecosystem, from expansion of gaming, industry development in contrasting markets to
growing integration opportunities throughout the
Greater Bay Area, revealing the huge economic
potential of this emerging industry from a comprehensive range of perspectives.

Visitors will be engaged by the event’s three themed
zones, each allowing the participants to encounter first-hand the latest esports
technology, entrepreneurship and competition development. Meanwhile, spectators
will feel the adrenaline watching a number of exciting live esports contests taking
place on the main stage, including a League
of Legends showdown between top
local esports squad Hong Kong Attitude and a dream team from
Southeast Asia.

The stadium will also host a series of competitive esports
star games. Korea’s top professional women’s team Rox Caracal will compete with
Hong Kong’s first female professional esports team PandaCute, in the League of Legends women’s battle.
Meanwhile an all-star team from TVB’s eSports
Central programme will challenge the established esports team Nova eSports
on the FIFA field, where a team of Bird
& Bird lawyers will also face down a team of Deloitte accountants.
Meanwhile in the individual competition, the formidable esports star Human Bomb
will play against Japan’s Yuya Tanida in the
Street Fighter contest. An audience of up to 400 are expected on the day, to
experience live the immersive atmosphere at the venue, and will also have the chance
to participate in a backstage tour.

Eric
Chan, Chief Public Mission Officer of Cyberport,
said: “The vigorous development of the global esports industry — not to mention the evolving ecosystem,
economic value, and growing social acceptance — means this is the ideal time
for Hong Kong to promote and engage
the ballooning esports
industry. DELF 2019 is an unparalleled
platform for the business community and the public to deepen their
understanding of the esports industry, to connect key stakeholders in the field and unlock
infinite business opportunities.

“Esports is not just a fleeting fad or passing trend, but a serious, ever-expanding industry, and DELF
will gather industry leaders, experts, professional esports
players, and enthusiasts to work together to promote
local esports culture. Cyberport will continue its efforts to optimise Hong Kong’s digital ecosystem, and to maintain Hong
Kong’s competitive advantage as an esports
hub through talent cultivation, competition
and technology development.“

The main forum will bring together more than 30 heavyweight
speakers from worldwide industry giants, including: Bernhard Mogk, SVP of
Global Brand Partnerships of ESL Gaming; Cheolhag Kim, Secretary General of
Korea e-Sports Association; Yuya Tanida, Representative Director, CEO of
WellPlayed Inc; Sam Cooke, Managing
Director & Co-Founder of Esports Insider; and Eduard Castell, Hong Kong
delegate of Spain’s top real-life football league, LaLiga. Also in attendance
will be representatives from leading
esports firm Razer; industry expert Cecilia Yau, Partner in
the Entertainment and Media Practice of PwC Hong Kong,
and executives from NVIDIA, AWS, Zotac, Zenox etc., as well as local esports
icons including Derek Cheung, Chairman of Hong Kong eSports Federation and Eric
Yeung, President of Esports Association Hong Kong.

Three themed experience zones to promote esports culture

As well as the insightful
speeches and panel discussions, visitors will also get 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.

The Game Zone will include multiple play areas for
gamers, offering the chance to experience the latest AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) games, including a racing game which
simulates a racer training experience, developed by start-up company Godzpeed.
Also on offer will be an AR battle experience, requiring team cooperation and
strategy, from Japan’s HADO, a locally developed VR gaming box VAR BOX, a remote
control robot battle game from Ganker EX, and the latest games from Xbox and
PlayStation.

The Tech Zone will focus on the latest innovation of game design and
hardware developers, allowing industry leaders to reveal the tremendous potential
of the newest frontier in data analysis and esports technology.

Meanwhile the Venturer Zone will showcase the latest
games and esports developments by over 20 startups from Cyberport and across
Hong Kong, with a view to sparking new inspiration for digital entertainment
and esports development. Esports entrepreneurs and represnetatives from higher
education institutions will also share insights about the future of esports, engaging
with topics including the entrepreneurship, professional development and cyber wellness.

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 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 (July 20-21), Seniors’ Esports & Experience Day (July
27), and the latest edition of the annual calendar highlight Hong Kong e-Sports &
Music Festival (July 26-28) — collectively facilitating the development of
esports and digital entertainment in Hong Kong.

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

Members
of the media interested in interviewing the speakers can fill in the interview
request form and email it to wendy.chan@creativegp.com
by 9 July 2019.

Attachment
1: DE*SPARK Program list

Appendix 1  – DE*SPARK Program list 

Event	Date	Venue	Contact & Registration
Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum (DELF) 2019	16 July 2019 09:30 – 18:30	Ocean View Court, Arcade @ Cyberport	Early Bird Offer: HK$300 (852) 3166 3757 OR event@cyberport.hk
Blockchain Gamer Connects (BGC) Hong Kong	17-18 July 2019	Ocean View Court, Arcade @ Cyberport	*Successful registrants of the DELF Main Forum can enjoy 30% off to register for Blockchain Gamer Connects (BGC) Hong Kong pgconnects.com/hong-kong/registration  OR sally.kevan@steelmedia.co.uk
LoL Campus League 2019 (Secondary & Tertiary Division Finals)	20 July 2019 14:00 – 20:30 21 July 2019 12:00 – 21:30	Ocean View Court, Arcade @ Cyberport	https://cga.gg/studentcup2019/
EMF 2019: LOL International College Championship Qualifiers	25 July 2019 10:00 – 22:00	Ocean View Court, Arcade @ Cyberport	https://emfhk.com/emf2019/
Seniors Esports & Experience Day	27 July 2019 09:00 – 16:30	Ocean View Court, Arcade @ Cyberport	(852) 2331 7036 OR kathywu@hospicecare.org.hk
esports & Music Festival Hong Kong (EMF)  (Organized by Hong Kong Tourism Board)	26-28 July 2019	Hall 3, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre	https://emfhk.com/emf2019/
ACGHK 2019	26-30 July 10:00 – 21:00	Hall 1, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre	https://www.ani-com.hk/2019ver/ *On-site Ticket Sales   (852) 2344 0415