NEST and Beijing International Esports Week finals conclude in Beijing
The 25–27 September finals featured virtual cycling, virtual rowing, Honor of Kings and Delta Force. A parallel university cycling event brought together 72 competitors from 18 institutions.
The 2026 National Electronic Sports Tournament (NEST) and Beijing International Esports Week (BIES) finals took place at the Beijing University Students Gymnasium, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, from 25 to 27 September. NEST staged virtual cycling and virtual rowing competitions, while the BIES programme featured Honor of Kings and Delta Force. The event concluded on the evening of 27 September.
Wu Yunfei won the men's virtual cycling title and Li Si won the women's title. Beijing Dehong Club won the virtual rowing competition. Chongqing Wolves took the Honor of Kings title, and JXG won Delta Force.
Participants included virtual-sport competitors, teams advancing from online esports qualifiers and invited professional teams. According to the event summary, more than 1,200 professional athletes and players competed across the full season. The programme began in June, with virtual cycling qualifiers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Yueyang, alongside nationwide online qualifiers for the two esports titles.
On 25 September, the inaugural Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei university virtual cycling open, held as part of NEST's Future Sports Ground programme, concluded at the same venue. It drew 18 teams and 72 competitors from 18 universities across the three neighbouring regions. Riders competed in individual time trials and a team pursuit. The venue used 12 smart cycling trainers, allowing 12 riders to race together with live data collection and display.
Peking University won the university team title. China University of Geosciences (Beijing) finished second, followed by Beihang University in third.
Li Zhaotong of China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Peng Jiale of Beihang University and Xin Shuo of Nankai University took the top three places in the men's individual time trial. In the women's event, Ma Meizi of China University of Geosciences (Beijing) won ahead of Wu Zhijing of Peking University and Chen Ruiling of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. Baoding University of Technology received the best teamwork award, while Tsinghua University received the sportsmanship award.
During the finals, the Future Sports Ground public challenge offered virtual cycling, virtual rowing and virtual skiing to university students, cycling and fitness club members, and other members of the public. The venue also hosted a sports-technology exhibition, and a virtual-sports industry seminar took place on 26 September.
NEST was hosted by the Beijing Sports Federation. BIES was co-hosted by the federation and the China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association. Beijing Hua'ao Esports Culture Media organised both events. Capital University of Physical Education and Sports and Hua'ao Esports jointly initiated the university cycling open.
Elizabeth Zhang
Elizabeth Zhang approaches virtual sports with an explorer’s curiosity and a reporter’s notebook. Moving between games, esports and sport, she looks for stories on ground that is still being mapped. She has a soft spot for anything interesting—and a question that keeps her going: where will we find the next great way to play?
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