After crushing Hearthstone defeat, Netease CEO will give a Ferrari to Chinese players who can beat Europe next time

The first-ever competitive meeting between China and Europe’s best Hearthstone players didn’t go well for China. Tuesday’s match, which featured Europe’s Rdu, Beherit, Lifecoach, and Savjz against China’s Hua Xiaoxiao, Xiao Guzhi, Eason, and Haidao, ended in a crushing loss for the Chinese team, with three of the matches finishing 3-1 in favor of the European players and Eason getting shut out 3-0.

(See: Hearthstone hits #1 on App Stores across Asia)

Netease, the China distributor for Hearthstone, put a lot of effort into organizing the competition, and Netease CEO Ding Lei is reportedly “furious” at the result. In fact, in an effort to make sure that China wins the next China-Europe showdown, he has said he plans to use his own funds to recruit China’s best Hearthstone players.

He also plans to offer a tasty reward to those players if China wins the next showdown: a brand new Ferrari for anyone who can beat their opponent in their match (even if the China team as a whole does not win).

The LaFerrari (Ding Lei hasn’t specified which specific Ferrari model he’s planning to give away)

That might just be the most tantalizing prize ever offered to a Chinese eSports athlete, although Netease does have a bit of a history of making grand plans and then canceling them. Still, the possibility of winning such an attractive and expensive car will surely bring Chinese Hearthstone players out of the woodwork, so Ding Lei’s plan might actually work.

(via 17173)