Wanyoo, the esports studio and gaming cafe chain, has opened a new branch at Westfield Stratford in East London.
It’s holding a press conference tomorrow (Thursday May 20th) to celebrate the launch of the studio, with influencers, journalists and esports enthusiasts invited to join and take part in activities.
Former Enclave Gaming player Ali ‘Gaaloul’ Gaaloul will also be talking about his experiences in League of Legends esports.
Wanyoo has imposed safety measures, with hand sanitiser, disposable headset covers and wet wipes, and says its facilities are ‘Covid-secure’.
There will also be an opening ceremony on Friday May 21st for the public to attend. Fans can pre-register to be in the audience for tournaments in League of Legends, CSGO and Valorant from May 21st to 23rd. Wanyoo will be free of charge to esports fans who attend over the three days.
Wanyoo was established in 1998 and is the largest esports studio chain in Asia. It operates more than 1,200 stores in over 50 cities and has over 10 million members worldwide. Its first European branch, Wanyoo UK, launched in London’s Charing Cross in early 2019.
Wanyoo now has four studios in the UK: in Charing Cross, Canary Wharf, Coventry and now Westfield London. They feature pay-as-you-go PC zones as well as cafe areas, with a ‘butler-style’ food and drink service.
Each gaming station features a service button to request staff for refreshment orders.
The Charing Cross and Canary Wharf stores will also reopen on May 21st.
Wanyoo say they’re creating a ‘well-equipped space for gamers, but also seeking to cultivate a relaxing and entertaining atmosphere for people needing a break from their busy lives’.
“Continuing with its luxurious standard, Wanyoo’s new studio in Westfield features an ergonomic and comfortable design for every gamer,” Wanyoo said in a press release. “Each PC is equipped with PlayStation ports and high-tech level hardware equipment. The highest PC configuration is RTX 2080 Super.
“Descend to its gaming floor and there’s a glass-walled room of severs flickering away to itself, on-brand neon, rows and rows of high-end PC screens – each complete with almost frictionless mice, glowing keyboards and lit headsets.”
Wanyoo also runs tournaments and has deals in place with esports players, such as the aforementioned Ali Gaaloul from Tunis, North Africa, current mid-laner for Armoured Brothers.
Players, casters and university professors give talks and training to Wanyoo guests at the monthly Wanyoo member event day.
Wanyoo says it’s gained more than 20,000 registered members in one year.
Wanyoo also has branches in America, Singapore, Australia, the UK and Canada, serving approximately 30m people per year.
Check out our visit to Wanyoo’s Charing Cross cafe from 2019 here:
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
