On the 16th of April (KST), Hanwha life announced that they’ve acquired ROX Tigers League of Legends team and changed the team’s name to Hanwha Life Esports (HLE).

Ahead of changing the new name, Hanwha Life and ROX Tigers had agreed on a sponsorship last January. As of the acquisition, Hanwha Life will be taking a step closer to esports fans.

According to Hanwha Life, the main viewers of esports are spread in ages 10-35 (79%). They’ve decided to acquire ROX Tigers to communicate with the young generation that can become future clients.

Hanwha is also looking forward to global marketing benefits because League of Legends has 190 million fans around the world.

The finals of the 2016 League of Legends World Championship had a viewership that peaked at 43 million concurrent viewers worldwide. The total number of viewers hit 396 million.

Hanwha Life will be concentrating on creating online marketing events for clients so that the fans and the players can have a good time together. For the players, they will be supplying a stable practice environment and carrying out several programs to support the players’ refinement and welfare. With Hanwha Life advancing into the esports industry, further investments from the finance industry can be expected.

Jeong Hae-seung, Hanwha Life Esports executive, commented on the acquisition “As esports is rising as one of the main cultures in the younger generations, we’ll be creating our own ‘Life Plus Culture’ so that the younger generations can have a better life. We’re looking forward to establishing a differentiated identity from the original esports teams and contributing to the creation of a healthy environment in the esports scene.”

HLE will be playing their first competition under their new name at the 2018 League of Legends Champions Korea Summer Split.