If no surprises happen, the name Suning will probably be “wiped out” from the LPL 2021 Summer.
Rumor: Weibo’s acquisition of SN has been completed?
Recently, the news about Suning preparing to change owners has attracted a lot of attention from the Chinese League of Legends community. According to reputable newspapers in the panda country, due to the debt situation of Suning’s parent group, the current World Championship runner-up 2020 will be sold to Weibo – China’s leading social network today.
However, over time, this rumor deal has not had any new information. It was not until recently that a famous blogger in Chinese Esports revealed that Weibo paid a deposit to Suning’s parent company, completing the initial transfer of ownership of the team.
Accordingly, Suning will continue to play in the 2021 Spring LPL with the current name, but the change of owners will be completed soon in the near future. However, Suning’s LPL Summer 2021 slot was acquired by Weibo.
Information from a reputable blogger of Chinese League of Legends revealed that Weibo acquired SN’s LPL competition slot (This is also the same person who accurately reported SofM’s re-contracting with Suning)
However, buying this slot does not mean Weibo will replace SN, but they will buy back the current squad of this team. Simply put, as mentioned, SN is just changing the name according to the new owner, while SofM, Huanfeng or Bin will still be present in their roster next season.
If the above sources are correct, it is likely that the transfer of Team Suning from Suning Group to Weibo will be carried out in the upcoming Summer tournament. Authorities in China also stated that the main reason for the delay is that the list of teams participating in the LPL Spring 2021 has been closed early (December 2020), so the name change and match handover cannot take place.
In fact, the transfer of ownership from Suning to Weibo is not a concern for SofM and SN’s staff (unless the new owner wants to “reform”). What will make LPL fans regret is the fact that the name Suning became too popular after the World Championship, and gained far-reaching influence in China. The fact that a team that had achieved high achievements in the international arena was “deleted” will make many people feel sad.
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