SHANGHAI, Feb. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The HERO ESPORTS Asian Champions League (ACL), Asia's premier multi-title esports tournament hosted by Hero Esports, has officially announced the addition of VALORANT to its inaugural lineup.
Previously, ACL unveiled six game titles: Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2 (CS2), Honor of Kings, Teamfight Tactics, Delta Force, and Crossfire. With VALORANT joining the roster, the total number of games now stands at seven, with more titles expected to be announced soon.
Through continued collaboration with the Esports World Cup, ACL has revealed that the champions of the ACL CS2 and Honor of Kings Tournaments will secure direct entry to the Esports World Cup. Further collaborations on the remaining titles of the ACL are anticipated.
The ACL VALORANT Tournament will be the only international-level VALORANT tournament held in China during the first half of 2025, attracting top teams from overseas. The Final of the event will take place offline in Shanghai. The event will use world-class production and cutting-edge live broadcasting technology to enhance audience experience.
The ACL is set to take place in the first half of 2025, with the Finals of the ACL CS2 Tournament and Honor of Kings Tournament scheduled for May. The ACL will have a total prize pool of $2 million.
Jonny Wang, CEO of the Asian Champions League, said: "We are excited to announce the addition of VALORANT to the ACL. Our ambition is to make ACL into a truly comprehensive tournament, providing a larger stage for players and teams across various competitions while delivering more exciting content for our audience."
Danny Tang, Co-Founder and CEO of Hero Esports, said: "We are pleased by the progress of the ACL and its ability to attract top teams and titles to compete across Asia. We look forward to the continued collaboration between Hero Esports, ACL and the Esports World Cup Foundation, which is testament to our shared ambition to shape and empower esports globally."
About Hero Esports
Founded in 2016, Hero Esports is the biggest esports company in Asia, producing more than 7,000 matches every year that captivate an online fan base of over 800 million. With a global presence encompassing 12 office locations and eight top-tier esports arenas, Hero Esports offers a comprehensive suite of esports services, including tournament organization, marketing solutions, community development, and more. As a private company, Hero Esports counts Savvy Games Group and Tencent, among others, as investors, with Kuaishou and Huya as strategic partners.
Headquartered in Shanghai and employing more than 1,100 employees, Hero Esports is a fully integrated operator of esports tournaments and creator of esports content with global reach. The company has helped produce many prestigious tournaments including the Olympic Esports Week, the Esports World Cup as well as the esports series featured at both the Jakarta Asian Games 2018 and the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023. Hero Esports also worked with the world's top-tier game publishers such as Tencent and Krafton in organizing popular esports leagues such as the Honor of Kings' KPL series and PUBG's PGC series, among many others. In 2024, Hero Esports launched Esports Asian Champions League (ACL), Asia's premier international, multi-title esports tournament. Hero Esports is a member of the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC).
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
VALORANT Added to HERO ESPORTS Asian Champions League
At Anker Day 2026, Anker Innovations marks its 15th anniversary by unveiling THUS™ - ANKER's first neural-net Compute-in-Memory AI audio chip - and a new generation of products across soundcore and eufy.
NEW YORK and Bellevue, Wash., May 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Anker Innovations is hosting Anker Day 2026: Where Ultimate Meets Possible, its annual brand event to showcase the newest product launches and technology break-throughs across its portfolio. Where Ultimate Meets Possible will bring together media, retail buyers and key influencers for an exclusive look at what's next in consumer electronics, spanning premium audio, home energy and the smart home appliances.
Where Ultimate Meets Possible will be held at STORIED in New York City, an invite-only experience featuring keynote presentations, hands-on product demonstrations and a deep dive into the company's latest innovations.
Anker Day 2026 debuted innovations across three brands: soundcore's Liberty 5 Pro and Pro Max — the first earbuds powered by Anker's new THUS™ AI chip — alongside VibeOS AI platform and Nebula SpaceFlow; Anker SOLIX's S2000, the world's longest-lasting 2kWh home backup power station; and eufy's EdgeAgent™, a local AI home security agent, plus new baby care products.
Started With Power
Anker was founded in 2011 and released its first product in the following year: a 4,500mAh ultra-slim power bank. It was a modest beginning, but behind it was an engineering conviction that would shape everything that followed. If technology is going to make a meaningful difference in people's lives, it has to be built to the highest possible standard.
2012 - The Beginning
Anker's first product: a 4,500mAh ultra-slim power bank - the start of a commitment to putting well-engineered, reliable power in people's hands.
2013 - PowerIQ™
Introduced PowerIQ™, enabling fast-charging compatibility across both iOS and Android - setting the standard for universal charging intelligence.
2018 - GaN from Aerospace
An early adopter of Gallium Nitride (GaN) from aerospace applications for consumer charging - delivering a 40% size reduction without sacrificing output.
2019 - World's Smallest 18W Charger
Delivered the world's smallest 18W charger at the time - proving that ultimate performance and ultra-compact form are not a trade-off.
2022 - GaNPrime™
Pioneered high-power multi-port chargers with dynamic power distribution - intelligently allocating power across multiple devices simultaneously.
2023 - 240W Wall Charger
Delivered the industry's highest-power 240W wall charger at the time - meeting the demands of the most power-hungry professional setups.
2024 - InstaCord™ & UltraDura™
In 2024, InstaCord™ became Anker's most advanced retractable‑cable technology and UltraDura™ achieved industry‑leading durability.
2025 - GaNPrime™ 2.0 • PowerIQ™ 5.0 • AnkerSense™ View • TurboBoost™
GaNPrime™ 2.0 (most advanced fast charging), PowerIQ™ 5.0 (smartest compatibility), AnkerSense™ View (intelligent display technology), and TurboBoost™ for ultra-fast power bank recharging. The pursuit never stops.
Fifteen years. Eight technology generations. Every breakthrough driven by one and only promise: seeking the ultimate innovation, not as an end in itself, but because technology built to its highest standard is how we put the possibilities people want in their lives within reach. Technology in service of people. That is what this pursuit has always meant.
Today's Milestone: Anker Thus™
For 80 years, chip design has followed the same logic established by John von Neumann in 1945: separate the processor from memory, and shuttle data between them one instruction at a time. For eight decades across mainframes, desktops, and data centers, this model worked. AI breaks that assumption. A neural network draws on millions of learned parameters all at once - and in a wearable device, moving that data between memory and processor consumes more than 90 percent of chip power, leaving almost nothing for actual computation.
THUS™ applies a different principle: embed computation directly inside NOR Flash memory cells, where the model already lives. The model parameters never have to move. The energy previously consumed by data movement is redirected entirely to computation.
The first THUS™ AI chip debuts in earbuds, delivering up to 150 times more AI computing power on the environmental noise cancellation task than Anker's previous-generation flagship earphones.
Clear Calls - the chip's first disclosed feature - runs a large neural network entirely on-device, anchored by eight MEMS microphones and two bone conduction sensors, for a significantly clear call in any environment. Additional AI-powered features including Signature Sound and Voice Control debuted at Anker Day.
"Every AI chip built until now stores the model on one side and does the computation on the other. To think, the device has to carry all those parameters across, many times per second, every single inference. THUS™ puts the computation where the model already lives. The model never has to move again."
- Steven Yang, Founder and CEO, Anker Innovations
THUS™ takes inspiration from "Thus have I heard", a Buddhist phrase that reflects direct transmission - knowledge conveyed as it was experienced, without distortion.
All performance figures are based on internal Anker lab tests. The 150× AI computing power figure applies specifically to the environmental noise cancellation task and reflects the architectural change from rule-based to neural-net AI processing. It is not a general performance claim and does not reflect a process node upgrade. The environmental noise cancellation workload referenced here runs as an on-device neural network model on the first THUS™ chip.
Anker soundcore Liberty 5 Pro: The First Product Powered by Anker Thus™
The soundcore Liberty 5 Pro and Liberty 5 Pro Max are the first two products to ship with the THUS™ chip. Their positioning is organized around three on-device intelligence layers the chip enables - understanding, adapting, and tuning - each representing a function earbuds could not credibly perform before neural-net AI became viable at this scale. Coming to the market soon.
15 Years, One Promise
From our first power bank to a proprietary AI chip in 2026 - the categories we build in keep expanding, and so does the scope of what technology can do for people's lives. Our promise has been one and only, seeking the ultimate innovation, with the conviction that technology built to its highest standard makes the possibilities people want in their lives the ones they can actually live. Fifteen years is long enough to know that trust is earned slowly. Fifteen years in. The pursuit continues.
About Anker Innovations
Anker Innovations is a global consumer technology company driven by ultimate innovation, creating products that help people power, create, connect, and live more freely. Founded in 2011, Anker Innovations serves more than 200 million consumers across 146 countries and regions. Learn more at anker.com.
DISCLAIMER
*Statements in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may include forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of the company. We wish to caution you that such statements are just predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties surrounding competitive and industry conditions, market acceptance for the company's products, risks of litigation, technological changes, developing industry standards and other factors related to the company's businesses. The actions referred to in this press release are not an admission or acknowledgement of any claim or allegation. The Company reserves all of its rights.
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15 Years of Seeking Ultimate Innovation: From Power Banks to Proprietary AI THUS™ Chip
15 Years of Seeking Ultimate Innovation: From Power Banks to Proprietary AI THUS™ Chip
15 Years of Seeking Ultimate Innovation: From Power Banks to Proprietary AI THUS™ Chip
