TJ Sports opening training camp for Chinese LoL prospects

TJ Sports has launched a training camp for new League of Legends talents in China.

Tencent and Riot Games are opening a new training camp through their joint venture, TJ Sports. The application process began on March 18 when players were first given the chance to register.

The three different selection processes will run through April 20. One of the selection events will take place at the internet coffee bar WYWK, one of the partners of TJ Sports and the main sponsor of reigning world champion Invictus Gaming. WYWK is hosting the offline events in multiple cities across China. These include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Changsha, and Wuhan.

The best players from these events will move on to the third stage, a 34-day League of Legends training camp where players can experience the life of a pro.

On May 18, the current LPL teams will take part in the Spring Season Draft. The announcement did not state how many players will move forward to the final training camp, nor did it specify how many players each team would be drafting.

This initiative is similar to North America’s Scouting Grounds. In that event, the top four players from each role in the Challenger ladder receive an invitation to take part and prove themselves. The players are divided into four separate teams that are coached by staff members from various LCS franchise teams.

The four teams, named after the elemental drakes in the game, then compete in a tournament live in the LCS studio in California. In the end, LCS teams get the opportunity to draft players to their academy teams based on their performance at the event.

In South Korea, professional teams open application processes for aspiring players who join the organizations as “trainees” and work their way up from there.