China's growing esports industry "has seen the number of professional players grow from a mere 50" in '06 to 1,001 in '16, per Unibet data, according to Zen Soo of the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. Almost all of Chinese League of Legends team EDward Gaming's eight members "are below the age of 25." According to Esportsearnings.com, a site that tracks prize money, esports players aged between 19 and 24 "tend to win the most prize money, while winnings tend to drop off significantly" for those over 25. EDG's youngest player, Tian "Meiko" Ye, "just turned 19 this year." His parents were "initially resistant" toward his choice to become an esports professional. Tian said, "After they've seen what EDG has achieved, they're much more supportive now of my profession in esports." China's esports growth has also been driven in part by "the country's obsession with games." About 560 million people -- or seven in 10 of the country's online population -- play games in China, according to a report by market intelligence firm Newzoo. China makes up 57% of the global esports audience -- with about 3.5 billion hours of esports videos viewed and 11.1 billion esports streams delivered to the country last year, according to an IHS Markit research report. A total of 23% of China’s gamers are females aged between 10 and 35 years old, whereas in North America and Europe, this demographic counts for only 17% (SCMP, 8/2).
