Chinese pop singer Li Zhengning announced that he had established a new esports organization KOALA Esports (ELA) to competing in NetEase’s Naraka Bladepoint franchise – Naraka Bladepoint Professional League (NBPL). Li will act as the celebrity partner of the team. ELA was formerly Naraka Bladepoint team YZG Esports.
The 2023 NBPL Spring Split will start on March 9. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Li is a member of the Chinese boy band UNINE, and currently has 8.4M followers on Weibo. He was active in the esports space last year, when he participated in esports events for Honor of Kings, League of Legends, Peacekeeper Elite, and acted as the guest shoutcaster of the Naraka Bladepoint World Championship. This news marks Li’s first major move in esports.