OCA and Tencent Esports Launch Decade-Long Strategic Partnership to Forge a New Era for Asian Esports

Tencent Esports and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) jointly announced a comprehensive ten-year strategic partnership. Under the agreement, Tencent Esports has become the Official Esports Technology Partner of the OCA.

This milestone marks a transition in their relationship from event-level support to a new stage of “system co-construction” centered on technology, standards, and ecosystem development. The partnership aims to propel the integration of esports and traditional sports, jointly shaping the future landscape of Asian esports.

This collaboration is rooted in years of mutual trust and shared practice. Tencent Esports has provided critical technical support throughout the journey of esports into the Asian Games—from its debut as a demonstration sport at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, to the upgrade of the OCA-Tencent Esports strategic partnership in 2022, and finally to the successful inclusion of esports as an official medal event at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou.

Building on this foundation, the long-term strategic cooperation was formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) during the OCA Executive Board Meeting in Bahrain in October 2025. In a significant move to institutionalize this collaboration, Yati Zhang, Director of Tencent Esports, has been appointed as the OCA Esports Manager. She will play a pivotal role in the co-construction of the Asian esports event system and ecosystem development.

Commenting on the partnership, Dr. Husain Al-Musallam, Director General of the OCA, said, “Based on the pleasant cooperation and trust built over the past decade, we have witnessed Tencent Esports’ excellence in driving industry development. This partnership is not just an upgrade in title, but a unification of responsibility. It signals that Asian esports has moved from an era of ‘participation’ to one of ‘system co-construction.’ We look forward to working with Tencent Esports to set a sustainable example for the healthy development of esports in Asia and globally.”

Director General of the OCA Message to Tencent Official eSport Technology
Simultaneously, leveraging the successful technical application deployment at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou, Tencent Esports is upgrading its technical capabilities to launch the Tencent Esports Competition System (ECS). This system, which aggregates experience from serving multiple top-tier tournaments, will provide end-to-end, high-availability technical support for future Asian Games and other major comprehensive Asian events, ensuring competitions are conducted under standards that are fair, stable, and efficient.

Drawing on its product development and ecosystem operations experience, Tencent Esports will also continue to deliver technical solutions and standards to assist in the digital transformation of major Asian tournaments. By building on existing foundations and advancing innovation across technologies and products, the company aims to further enhance the credibility and operational efficiency of top-tier Asian events, driving high-quality development within the Asian esports industry.

Hou Miao, Vice President of Tencent Games and General Manager of Tencent Esports, outlined the vision for this collaboration by introducing the “Tri-Pillar Drive” integrated development model to guide the industry’s future.

“For esports to truly integrate into the global mainstream sports system, we must build a sustainable and replicable new order,” Hou stated. “I believe the future of esports will be driven by a tripartite synergy: the Publisher Tech Ecosystem as the engine of innovation, continental and global sports organizations such as the OCA as the authoritative platform, and national and regional esports strategies as the fulcrum for implementation.”

Hou added, “Embarking on this next decade of cooperation with the OCA is about putting this model into practice, starting in Asia. We look forward to working with all partners to pave a viable and robust ‘Asian Path’ for collaborative development, making it a recognized and integral part of the global sports mainstream.”