UPDATE 1-China's The9Ltd Q4 EPS falls,but beats Wall Street view

(Recasts, adds details)

Feb 21 (Reuters) - China-based The9 Ltd (NCTY.O: Quote, Profile, Research) reported an 18 percent fall in quarterly profit, but still beat market expectations, as the online game operator benefited from strong growth of player usage of Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft game.

Shares of the company shot up 14 percent to $20.49 in trading after the bell. The stock had closed at $17.98 in regular trade on Nasdaq.

Fourth-quarter earnings were $11.8 million, or 40 cents per American depository share, compared with $14.4 million, or 58 cents per ADS, in the year-ago period.

Net revenue increased 34 percent to $58.1 million.

Analysts expected the company to earn 24 cents per ADS on revenue of $50.8 million, according to Reuters Estimates. (Reporting by Sweta Singh; Editing by Bernard Orr)