Akihabara News (Tokyo) — The PUBG Mobile Japan League (PMJL) is to become a franchised esports league from 2021 with a prize pool of ¥300 million (US$2.8 million).
PUBG Mobile Japan League Season Zero was held from August 29 to October 18 with a prize pool of ¥10 million US$95,000, signaling the firm’s intention to move seriously into the Japanese market.
According to the latest announcement, sixteen teams will compete in a closed franchised league from 2021 to 2023. Only two out of the seven players on each team can be foreign nationals. Teams have until November 27 to fill their applications, and on December 17 the decision on the teams that made the cut will be revealed.
Each year, the first phase will be held from February to April, while the second phase will occur from July to September.
Aside from the prize pool, each team has to pay an annual salary of at least ¥3.5 million (US$33,000) to all of their team members in order to assure their economic well-being during the gaming period.
NTT Docomo is backing the event.