The World Series of Poker announced a new partnership with Chinese mobile gaming and social media giant Tencent with the goal of growing poker in Asia.
The deal will see the WSOP brand appear on Tencent's social poker app Tencent Poker, the most popular play-for-fun social poker app in China. Tencent is China's biggest internet company and owns major properties including WeChat and League of Legends. It also owns large stakes in both Activision Blizzard, the creator of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, and Gears of War Developer Epic Games.
Tencent and the WSOP will join forces to host the first ever WSOP China live poker event this December in Sanya and the WSOP will also create a program to help train and certify Chinese poker tournament staff. (READ HERE: FIRST 2017 WSOP ONLINE DONE)
The WSOP will offer its expertise on event structures, rules, equipment and procedures to ensure any live events bearing the WSOP's brand will uphold the globally recognized standards of the WSOP.
“There is so much untapped potential in Asia and we've found the perfect partner in Tencent to help spread the great game throughout the entire continent,” said Ty Stewart, Executive Director of the WSOP.
WSOP Chips Tencent will use the globally-recognized WSOP brand to help grow the game.
“We plan to use the WSOP brand and our expertise, along with Tencent's reach in Asia, to inspire the next generation of competitive sports players.”
