On the afternoon of December 16th, Liu Jiacheng, a simulated football player of the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games, claimed the championship in an exciting simulated football competition. This marked the successful conclusion of the 2024 National E-Sports Tournament (NEST) Annual Finals and the Wudian Market E-Sports Festival, themed ‘Floweryoung New Progress’, bringing a perfect end to this electronic sports feast.
Heroes gathered at the Wudian Market Zhuangyuan Stage, the main stage of the 2024 NEST, to compete for the new ‘Jin’ heroes’ dreams, aiming for the peak of League of Legends, an official competition event of the Hangzhou Asian Games with a strong international influence and a broad audience base. It has also been an official competition event of the NEST National E-Sports Tournament for twelve consecutive years since 2013.
Nearly a thousand professional League of Legends players have honed their skills and accumulated experience on the NEST stage, and we look forward to witnessing more outstanding players set sail from the NEST stage towards a broader competitive world and a challenging competitive journey. The passionate collision of technology and sports, the gorgeous symphony of wisdom and movement, the 2024 NEST National Electronic Sports Tournament annual finals set up three electronic sports events, including virtual cycling, virtual rowing, and simulated football. Each event embodies the dual charm of technological innovation and sports spirit, not only expanding the boundaries of e-sports but also allowing more people to feel the new sports experience brought by technology.
After three days of intense competition, in the annual finals covering three events, Zhang Hao and Cheng Liangqiong won the women’s and men’s virtual cycling titles respectively for their outstanding performance; at the same time, the RowPro club demonstrated excellent teamwork and strength, winning the championship of the annual finals virtual rowing event; in the simulated football event, Liu Jiacheng, a player from the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games, won the championship honor with his rich combat experience and excellent performance. The 2024 NEST National Electronic Sports Tournament annual finals further demonstrated the competitive charm and broad prospects of electronic sports. In this era of rapidly changing technology, the boundaries of sports competition are being continuously expanded, and NEST will continue to be an important practitioner in the field of electronic sports, deeply promoting the deep integration of technology and sports. During the three-day event, in addition to the tense and fierce competition, there were also eye-catching hero parades and hero conferences in Wudian City, which not only enriched the content of the event but also injected a profound cultural heritage into the event. The hero parade is a unique activity that combines the passion and vitality of electronic sports, the rich charm of local intangible heritage, and the fashionable atmosphere of trendy culture. The grand parade unfolds in the ancient architectural block with a thousand years of cultural heritage, with the majestic Jinjiang Kui Shi, the long-lasting charm of Gaojia Opera, the exquisite skill of palm puppets, the singing and dancing Suoluo Lian, the elegant and graceful Nan Yin, the trendy and dynamic cycling performance, and the cosplayers dressed as classic League of Legends characters wandering through the ancient streets and alleys, as if it were a cultural dialogue and creative integration across time and space, unfolding a dreamlike, profound and fashionable dynamic magnificent picture scroll for participants and the audience, allowing them to deeply appreciate the infinite charm and unique style of the interweaving and integration of tradition and modernity.The hero parade – Cosplay performance and Gaojia opera performance. Hero parade – Jinjiang Zhai Lion performance. The hero convention, as the second wonderful scene of this event, grandly opens in Jinwenfang, a commercial block in the north area of Wudianshi that is about to open. The hero convention combines the passion and vitality of e-sports with the local characteristic culture of Jinjiang, creating a series of experience projects that are both novel and full of cultural connotations, attracting many challengers of all ages to participate enthusiastically.
Among them, challenge projects such as virtual cycling and electronic dance lead the fashion with their sense of technology and fashion, allowing participants to enjoy the dual pleasures of speed and rhythm in the digital world. There are also various interesting interactive mini-games, creating a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere for the event. Hero convention – Virtual cycling experience area. The carnival of e-sports and the feast of urban culture. The 2024 NEST National E-Sports Tournament annual finals and Wudianshi E-Sports Festival attract the participation of many players and audiences with its rich event content, highly participatory activity design and strong cultural atmosphere. According to statistics, there are more than 70 professional e-sports players and e-sports athletes in the three-day event. They are selected from all over the country and gather in Wudianshi, Jinjiang City, Fujian Province, bringing a wonderful competitive feast to the audience. The event attracts tens of thousands of audiences to watch and experience offline. It also allows more people to feel the charm of e-sports through a combination of online and offline. In terms of communication, since the event was launched, more than a hundred media have released manuscripts to track and report on the event. The reports spread outwards with ‘diverse output content of official self-media’ as the core, forming a diversified publicity matrix covering mainstream media, social media, vertical media, participating clubs, players, etc. , achieving all-round and multi-level publicity coverage. This event is held in the ancient Minnan block with a history of more than 1300 years. Based on its profound historical background and unique regional culture, the vivid lion dance performance at the opening ceremony, the display of local intangible cultural heritage projects in the hero parade, and various local delicacies at the hero convention site form a ‘breaking the circle’ effect. From the perspective of cultural communication, the innovative integration of e-sports and traditional ancient blocks attracts the participation and experience of many young groups. They appreciate the charm and elegance of Minnan traditional culture in the experience and effectively promote the dissemination of Minnan culture among young groups. From the perspective of sports promotion, different from the past, this event is held in an outdoor tourist block. This form allows potential audiences such as passing tourists and local citizens to contact and understand e-sports, further expanding the audience group and influence of e-sports.As one of the pillar industries in Jinjiang, the sports industry has already established a solid and profound industrial foundation. This event is held in the traditional and commercial blocks of Wudianshi in Jinjiang City, Fujian Province. It is a positive response to the call of the General Administration of Sport of China for sports events to go deep into scenic spots, blocks, and business districts.
It is also an innovation and in-depth expansion of the boundaries of the traditional sports industry. With professional event specifications and diverse activity forms, the event further stimulates the potential of surrounding cultural and entertainment consumption and innovates consumption scenarios. It helps Jinjiang create an electronic sports and trendy culture IP matrix with unique identifiers, promotes the deep integration of the electronic sports industry with local culture, commerce, sports, and tourism, and further helps Jinjiang make steady progress on the road of diversified industrial integration and development.
