PlayBrain, Riot Games and Yoshimoto partner for League of Legends Pro League in Japan
2018-12-26
In the multi year, three company partnership, PlayBrain will take the lead in directing the operation and creative direction of the LJL and broadcast of League of Legends international events.
Tokyo, Japan, January 18, 2019 – Riot Games, PlayBrain, Inc and Yoshimoto Creative Agency have entered a partnership to operate the League of Legends Japan League (“LJL”), the largest esports league in Japan, and Japanese broadcasts for all major international League of Legends tournaments.
In the multi year, three company partnership, PlayBrain will take the lead in directing the operation and creative direction of the LJL and broadcast of League of Legends international events. Yoshimoto will bring LJL a new home, the freshly renovated Mugen Hall in the center of Tokyo’s popular Shibuya district, as well as promotion and management of on stage talents. Riot Games bring their expertise and support as the developer of League of Legends.
The first LJL season with the new partnership already boasts a key sponsorship from Alienware, and an exclusive broadcast partnership with Twitch. The 2019 Spring Split season starts on January 19th, 2019 and the Japanese language stream can be watched exclusively on Twitch at https://twitch.tv/riotgamesjp.
For PlayBrain, LJL is now a core part of an expanding portfolio of international and Japanese domestic esports, digital properties and game industry initiatives in Japan, and across Asia that include Hearthstone, Overwatch, and Gwent, among others. Being able to develop LJL as a great experience for fans, highly desirable media for advertisers, as well as being a showcase for PlayBrain’s technical and operational services were key motivations for the deal.
“We are very excited about this year's LJL and I am very much looking forward to working with PlayBrain who have also worked with us to produce LJL in the past. We can now scale up our relationship as business partners.” said Shinji Komiyama, Country Manager of Riot Games Japan. “We would like to create a world-class esports culture in Japan based on three key areas, competitiveness, experience and ecosystem. We feel we have the best partners in PlayBrain with their knowhow, and Yoshimoto with their infrastructure.”
“We are excited to continue to grow LJL as a leading esports event in Japan.” said Mike Sheetal, CEO of PlayBrain. “With the current opportunities for growth in Japanese esports, we feel uniquely positioned to connect the Japanese esports community with the rest of the world, and turn Japanese competitions into world class events. Our partnership with Riot Games and Yoshimoto to run LJL is a key step towards this mission.”
About LJL
The LJL (“League of Legends Japan League”) is the professional esports league for League of Legends in Japan. It was established by Riot Games and is now operated by a three company partnership between Riot Games, PlayBrain and Yoshimoto.
https://jp.lolesports.com (Japanese)
Watch the stream at https://twitch.tv/riotgamesjp
About PlayBrain
Founded in 2016 in Tokyo, Japan, PlayBrain is a marketing company and brand builder with a mission to reach gamers and game fans with esports, targeted communication, and content marketing. PlayBrain has been the architect behind some of the largest competitive gaming events in Japan, as well as developing web platforms for competitive gaming communities and technology solutions for gaming broadcast.
About Riot Games
Riot Games was founded in 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill with the intent to change the way video games are made and supported for players. In 2009, Riot released its debut title League of Legends to worldwide acclaim. The game has since gone on to become the most played PC game in the world and a key driver of the explosive growth of esports. Players are the foundation of our community and it’s for them we continue to evolve and improve the League of Legends experience. Riot Games is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA and has 23 offices worldwide. Japan office was established in 2014.
About Yoshimoto Creative Agency
Yoshimoto Creative Agency is a subsidiary of Yoshimoto Kogyo established in 2007. The headquarters are located in Osaka, Japan, and their business scope includes talent management, production, distribution and promotion of TV and radio programs, entertainment and theater.
https://www.yoshimoto.co.jp/ (Japanese)