Global Poker League parent group Mediarex Sports & Entertainment, has sealed its previously reported collaborative five-year agreement with JuzhongJoy in Beijing, which will see the Chinese firm managing GPL China’s operations, distribution and sponsorships.
GPL China, was launched last December (see previous InfoPowa report) and initially comprises eight teams.
Peng Zhang, chief executive officer of JuzhongJoy, said in a statement this week that in recent years, the pace of development in local poker has been very fast, with more and more domestic competitions.
“While domestic players participating in world-class events is also growing demand, GPL as a Global Poker League chose the best time to enter China…through cooperation on both sides, the GPL can take root in China.”
Alex Dreyfus, CEO of Mediarex, said:
“We will focus on partnering with as many mobile applications as possible. We want to stay neutral and become the NBA of Poker in China.”
He added that the first season of the GPL – 180 matches and hundreds of hours of content – would be coming to China.
“Mediarex is taking time to focus on improvements in preparation for the launch of Season 2 and beyond,” Dreyfus revealed.
“With the eSports industry boom – a phenomenon which has inspired a lot of our initiatives over the past three years – we’ve decided to develop regional experiences to complement our global league.”
Alongside GPL China, Mediarex will also work to launch GPL India and GPL Latin America in the near future, Dreyfus said.
“More than ever, GPL will be a global entertainment platform that connects players and fans all over the world,” he said, emphasising that his company is being cautious in its approach, taking all the time and care necessary to realise its international ambitions.