Imba TV to launch China Dota2 Development League

Chinese esports event organizer and broadcasting company Imba TV has teamed up with eight Chinese esports organisations to launch the China Dota2 Development League.

Imba TV will partner with the following teams to find talented young players: LGD Gaming, Vici Gaming, Keen Gaming, Royal Never Give Up, Team Aster, EHOME, Invictus Gaming, and Newbee Esports Club.

China DOTA2 Development League
Image credit: Imba TV

The China Dota2 Development League will be launched on July 16th, with Imba TV aiming to improve the competition format after The International 2019 (TI9) when more clubs get involved.

As it will solely focus on cultivating young talent, the league only allows the youth team from each club to compete and will scrutinise players’ age and qualifications. Imba TV also will crack down on unfair actions such as cheating, swapping accounts, and match-fixing.

Lingxiang Zhou, Founder of Imba TV commented: “People may think that Imba TV has been doing ‘stupid things’ for China’s Dota because the viewership of this kind of tournaments is much less than the viewership of traditional esports tournaments. However, we are proud of the fact that we have cultivated many famous Dota2 players such as Fade, BoBoka and XinQ. We will continue to organise tournaments for Chinese young teams because the ‘stupid things’ have to be done by someone.”

This is not the first time that Imba TV has attempted to develop China’s Dota 2 with an innovative competition. In 2018, Imba TV hosted a weekly Dota 2 tournament called Imba TV H-Cup to give young Chinese teams and players more opportunities to showcase themselves and enhance their overall competitive experience.

Esports Insider says: As a leading Chinese esports event organiser, Imba TV is setting a solid example for its competition in the esports scene. It’s assuring to see the company take responsibility to create a sustainable environment that attracts more people to enter esports rather than solely focusing on making money.