Wuhan is the Capital city of Hubei province in Central China and a sprawling commercial hub with its 12 million strong population and well-developed manufacturing industry. But these days, it is making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Wuhan city has been under a quarantined lockdown by the Chinese government for weeks now due to it being the center of a deadly epidemic of NCP – Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia. More than 1,000 people have died due to this viral disease which has been termed a global health emergency by the WHO.
As the city went under complete shutdown, a number of sports events in the city and neighboring areas have been canceled or rescheduled for later dates.
The esports landscape in Wuhan city has been particularly affected by the chaos brought upon by the Coronavirus epidemic. The city and wider Hubei region have a very rich history in the esports and an active community to uphold the tradition.
The top lineup in China’s League of Legends Pro League (LPL) has been dominated by players from Wuhan. In fact, the very first registered LPL player and current coach of Edward Gaming Ming “Clearlove” Kai hails from Wuhan.
Similarly, Jian “Uzi” Zihao, the top player of China and the 2018 League of Legends World Championship Yu “Jackylove” Wenbo also belongs to the neighboring cities of Wuhan in the Hubei region.
But the definite crown jewel in Wuhan’s esports gaming community is Sun “XiaOt” Liwei. The Starcraft and Dota2 player and former CEO of Invictus Gaming now heads his own company eStar Gaming headquartered in Wuhan. His team is the defending champion of KPL – King Pro League, a nationwide competition organized by Tencent games.
Wuhan is also home to DouYu, a gaming live-streaming company that became the first Chinese internet company to have an Initial Public Offering – IPO at the US stock exchange and got valued at a whopping $4 billion in 2019.
Wuhan city has hosted a number of grand esports events in the past including League of Legends World Championships in 2017 and KPL Fall Split Grand Final in 2019.
There is no doubt that the Coronavirus outbreak is having a detrimental effect on the economic and social well-being of Wuhan city but the 3,500 years old has withstood the test of time and will surely recover from the temporary slump. It has a vibrant Esports community and everyone is doing their best to help each other get through the tough time.
