Table of Contents
What is the Esport?
Esports, also known as electronic sports or professional competitive video gaming. There are a number of games common in competitive esports such as Counter-Strike, Dota 2, Starcraft II and Overwatch. Most of these games have a free to play version which has helped to make the game easily accessible for casual players. Millions of players around the world enjoy playing video games to feel a sense of achievement, challenge themselves and meet friends while many others watch professionals or streamers play these games for entertainment either on their own streams or through other mediums such as Twitch.tv.
Esport as a whole has been growing exponentially as of late. The recent interest in competitive gaming is almost unprecedented, with the biggest example no doubt League of Legends Esport (LoL). Although many might not know, LoL’s popularity skyrocketed nearly four years ago in late 2009 when the game’s beta was released in North America.
LoL is a MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game which pits two teams of five players against one another on Summoner’s Rift, where the ultimate goal is to destroy the enemy team’s nexus.
What is Riot Games?
Riot Games also known as American video game developer and esports tournament organizer based in West Los Angeles, California. They are the creators of League of Legends Esport, a multiplayer online battle arena game which has been currently one of the most popular and known esports games in the world played by over 100 million players daily. The game has helped to bring about an increased interest in esports and many tournaments have been held for this game all around the world. The game continues to grow in popularity every year and since 2012 has become one of the highest paying esports games in the world with players earning millions of dollars each year.
League of Legends European Championship (LEC)
The League of Legends European Championship (LEC) is an esports league operated by Riot Games, based in Berlin, Germany. In 2018 it will be the highest tier of professional League of Legends competition in Europe and will be part of Riot’s efforts to develop the European esports scene.
League of Legends Esport World Championship (LoL)
The League of Legends Esport World Championship which is an annual “Korean vs. rest-of-the world” tournament held by Riot Games since 2011. In 2018, 24 teams from around the world will compete in a group stage and elimination bracket to play for a grand prize of $2 million.[28] The tournament is widely praised for its ceremonial performances, while receiving attention worldwide due to its multiple dramatic and emotional matches.
But what makes League of Legends Esport so popular?
The first reason would be that the game has been released for free and is easy to get into. Another important point is the huge amount of players playing the game at any given time. At its peak, LoL had more than 32 million players playing daily and over 67 million active players monthly which is quite astonishing for a PC only game.
What does League of Legends Esport mean this year?
Well first of all we should look towards Riot’s track record on supporting the competitive scene for their games. The company has been very successful in supporting its players and fans with thrilling tournaments around the world. And with the success of last year’s World Championship, which had over 1 million viewers watching matches at once, this year will surely be another step ahead.
With all that being said, in the following year we should expect to see an even bigger and better League of Legends Esport scene. New teams, new players and possibly a brand new meta will all make for one exciting year.
