On June 5, 2026, the LPL, China's League of Legends league, announced on Weibo that BYD had come on board as an official partner. The carmaker becomes the first Chinese automotive brand to feature in the competition, stepping symbolically into the shoes left by Germany's Mercedes-Benz.
The deal centers on BYD Ocean, the group's division for new energy vehicles (electric and plug-in hybrids), under the slogan "Riding the waves with the wind, joining hands toward the summit."
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A League Rebuilding Its Commercial Base
The signing lands during a clear downturn in the league's sponsorship pull. Heading into 2026, the LPL's operator had unveiled a slimmed-down roster of just seven brands: e-commerce platform JD, sportswear maker Li-Ning, condom brand Durex, electric scooter maker Skymotor, TCL, Warhorse, and gaming chair brand AutoFull.
Three big names were missing from that list: Mercedes-Benz, smartphone maker OPPO, and Intel.
The LPL's commercial peak dates back to 2021, when it counted fifteen partners. Mercedes held a special place among them: the German brand had backed the league since 2018 and became its "chief partner" from 2019 onward. Across its run, Mercedes-Benz pulled in roughly $88 million in media value as the official Chinese partner of Worlds 2017.
BYD's Breakthrough
The carmaker has been around the esports scene for years. Back in 2021, it was already sponsoring the eStar.Pro roster in Honor of Kings (a wildly popular mobile game in China), its logo sitting on the players' shoulders. Then, in March 2024, BYD signed a global deal with Ninjas in Pyjamas (NIP), one of the major international esports outfits, and, as it happens, one of the fourteen teams in today's LPL.
