CFS 2023 Grand Final Crowned Twice at Tiger Roar Awards, China’s Repre… 2024-06-14

■ First Korean game company to win China’s most prestigious marketing award with 15-year history

■ CFS 2023 Grand Final held with spectators in China for first time in four years, contributing to esports culture development

Smilegate Entertainment (CEO: Ina Jang) announced on the 3rd (Mon.) that the CFS (Crossfire Stars) 2023 Grand Final, the crossfire e-sport contest with the highest prestige held by Smilegate Entertainment, won two prizes including the Gold Prize at the Tiger Roar Awards, China’s representative brand marketing awards.

The CFS 2023 Grand Final, which was held in Chengdu, China, in December last year, won the Gold Prize in the convention event category and Bronze Prize in the event marketing category. Smilegate Entertainment is the first Korean game company to win an award at the Tiger Roar Awards. Tiger Roar Awards is the most specialized and influential award ceremony in China’s digital brand marketing industry, which is governed by the Digital Marketing Committee of the China Advertising Association of Commerce. The judging panel, consisting of 1,100 advertising and marketing experts, selects and awards brands that have produced creative and innovative outcomes in various fields of marketing. 

CFS 2023 Grand Final, which has celebrated its tenth anniversary, was held with spectators in China for the first time in four years due to the impact of COVID-19. The event attracted a total of 10,000 spectators over the three-day period, and the social network channels for various CFS-related promotions recorded over 630 million views. The event won the Gold Prize in the convention event category due to its innovativeness, especially in the opening and closing ceremonies that offered a wide range of creative contents. 

The CFS 2023 Grand Final won the Bronze Prize in the event marketing category. The CGI video lighting up the downtown area and sky of Chengdu, the gigantic offline 3D screen, the subway train wrapping, and the satellite flash elevated the recognition of CFS IP. SWAT Panda, an IP created using the panda, a symbol of Chengdu, through collaboration with Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, was evaluated as having effectively publicized the event to general users and contributed to e-sport culture development. 

The Tiger Roar Awards, which celebrated its 15th anniversary this year, had over 1,000 participating companies with approximately 4,500 entries. The winners of this year’s awards—which in the past have been won by the marketing campaigns of global brands such as BMW, Coca-Cola and Prada—included campaigns from Starbucks, Under Armour, Coca-Cola and the NBA. 

Brady Yeo, Head of Esports Strategy Department said, “Winning at the Tiger Roar Awards means that the innovativeness of the CFS competition and our effort to provide more diverse esports experiences have been recognized. With the pride of hosting the global No. 1 FPS competition, we will strive to achieve even more.”