grandMA3 enables integration for Honor of the Kings

A Stadium-Scale Spectacular

China - Esports’ popularity continues to accelerate worldwide, with the Asia-Pacific region as its undisputed powerhouse. No single event demonstrates its impact more than the Grand Finals of the King Pro League (KPL) for Honor of the Kings, the world’s most-played multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, developed by TiMi Studio Group. 

This was an event of incredible scale, a vibrant mix of live performance, choreography, lightshow, screen content and Augmented Reality (AR). Lighting design, supply and stadium-wide integration of all these elements was carried out by leading entertainment technology specialist and MA Lighting distributor, ACE, tying everything together with the grandMA3 lighting control system, proving the grandMA3’s unrivalled suitability for major stadiums events and systems integration.

The production included a central stage with an LED floor spanning over 3,500sq.m. Above, 10 huge, dynamic, double-sided LED screens could move to switch between gameplay, performance and ceremonial formats, while around the stadium were over 5,000 lighting fixtures, including more than 1,800 moving head luminaires, plus LED strips, lasers and foggers. grandMA3’s centralized show control integrated with media servers and timecode to drive the synchronized lighting, screens and effects across the stadium-scale canvas.

A Record-Breaking Event

ACE is well used to dealing with big entertainment events, but still, this was special. In fact, with over 62,000 attendees, the event set a Guinness World Record for the largest ever live esports audience. 

For this show, three experienced lighting design directors – Zheng Zhaoliang, Bei Wen and Liu Yanyang – were supported by a team of programmers and assistants. And, to ensure reliable control over the production’s 180 000 parameters, they used a grandMA3 system of six full-size consoles, with parameter expansion from six grandMA3 processing units XL and 32 grandMA3 processing units M.

Lead designer Zheng Zhaoliang has been a user of MA Lighting systems since 2010, starting on grandMA, before moving to grandMA2 in 2011. This show was his very first use of grandMA3. Of the transition, he says: “I wasn’t entirely familiar with the system, and that did affect my programming speed, but the access to new programming features compensated for that initial unfamiliarity.”

Enabled by grandMA3

“Lighting design is an innovation-driven profession,” says Zheng Zhaoliang, explaining the choice of grandMA3, “and we need to use new control equipment to maximise and enrich our visuals capability. Having used grandMA2 for many years, and with some of ACE’s shows already using grandMA3, this was an excellent opportunity for us to use it on a large-scale event – and we felt confident in mastering it after preliminary training.”

Also, grandMA3 would both enable reliable control of the high parameter count and help to streamline the team’s pre-programming work – a major plus with limited on-site programming time. “It helped us to avoid dividing effect programming among multiple designers and to present lighting visuals more efficiently and centrally within one system,” says Zheng Zhaoliang.

At the same time, there was encouragement from peers and mentors. He explains, “Early in my career, I worked as an assistant for many lighting designers, such as the renowned Li Yangyang. Since 2024, they have been using grandMA3 for Zhang Jie’s tour concerts. During preparation, he advised me that with such a large number of fixtures in a massive venue, it was essential to use a stable console capable of handling so many parameters.”

Saving Time & Labour

The design was created in WYSIWYG, then imported into grandMA3 and visualization software via the MVR (My Virtual Rig) file format. Zheng Zhaoliang says, “Support for MVR gives seamless data import, significantly reducing labour and allowing more focus on artistic creation.”

Also useful was the grandMA3 viz-key allowing connection to visualization software without additional hardware. “This enables programming and rehearsal in a virtual environment,” says Zheng Zhaoliang, “without relying on physical fixtures and stages. It saves significant hardware preparation time and costs in the early stages of the project.”

Other helpful features included the Phaser effect engine’s new ‘multi-dimensional effects’ concept. “Through the intuitive interface, we can finely adjust each characteristic of an effect, like operating an audio equalizer,” Zheng Zhaoliang explains. “The Phaser effect engine is more like an intelligent effect factory, breaking down complex effects into intuitive parameter dimensions. It allows us to create more complex, organic dynamic effects with fewer steps.”

He also cites the Selection Grid and Generator functions. “The Selection Grid helps with managing multi-instance fixtures – like pixel lights – allowing us to quickly select, group, and control any part of a fixture matrix, which greatly improves pixel-mapping efficiency. Also, the Generator function enriches effects for pixel fixtures through algorithms, enhancing both variety and controllability.”

As an example, this event saw the installation of 1028 pixel strobe bars to create a controllable ring of light throughout the stands, with unprecedented pixel effects created via the grandMA3.

Ambition Realized

Overall, grandMA3 provided the tools the team needed to successfully integrate all the elements of this ambitious show – on a stadium scale – into a stunning final result. Says Zheng Zhaoliang, “Despite the vast scale and complexity of the show, our aim was to treat the stadium as an expanded version of a theatre – and the grandMA3 facilitated that integration for us.”

He adds, “We received excellent support from the ACE team throughout the entire process, from initial preparation and pre-programming to on-site rehearsals and the live performance itself.”