T1 is a South Korean esports organization operated by T1 Entertainment & Sports, a joint venture between SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor. The team that would become SKT T1 was originally founded in 2002 by StarCraft player Lim "BoxeR" Yo-hwan under the name Team Orion, which was later renamed to 4 Union in December 2003. In April 2004, South Korean wireless carrier SK Telecom began sponsoring the team, officially creating the team SK Telecom T1.
The League of Legends World Championship is the annual professional League of Legends world championship tournament hosted by Riot Games and is the culmination of each season. Teams compete for the champion title, the 44-pound (20-kilogram) Summoner's Cup, and a multi-million-dollar championship prize. In 2018, the final was watched by 99.6 million people, breaking 2017's final's viewer record. The tournament has been praised for its ceremonial performances, while receiving attention worldwide due to its dramatic and emotional nature.
The League of Legends Pro League (LPL) is the top-level professional league for League of Legends in China. The first season of the LPL was the 2013 Spring season. The top three finishers of the playoff tournament receive automatic bids to the League of Legends World Championship. Playoffs are an eight team single elimination with each step a best-of-five series. The total prize pool is ¥2,350,000. In 2014 Riot Games began providing an English language broadcast. The format is modeled after the League of Legends Champions Korea format in South Korea. In September 2015 it was announced that Riot Games was in negotiations with Tencent to take over operations of the league. In 2019, Riot Games and Tencent created joint venture, TJ Sports, to focus on all League of Legends esports business in China, including tournament organizing, talent management, and venues.
The 2015 Mid-Season Invitational is the first event of the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) – a League of Legends tournament organized by publisher Riot Games that was held after Spring Season, from May 7–10, 2015 at the Florida State University Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in Tallahassee, Florida. The participants is 6 winner teams of the Spring Season: 5 teams from North America, Europe, China (LPL), South Korea (LCK), Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau (LMS) and a team from Wildcard regions that won the Mid-Season International Wildcard Invitational (IWCI).
The 2016 Mid-Season Invitational was the second event of the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), a League of Legends tournament by Riot Games. It took place from March 4 to March 15, 2016, in Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, Pudong, Shanghai, China. The participants were 6 winning teams of the Spring Seasons in their respective regions: 5 teams from North America, Europe, China (LPL), South Korea (LCK), Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau (LMS) and a team from Wildcard regions that won the Mid-Season International Wildcard Invitational (IWCI).
Royal Never Give Up (RNG) is a Chinese esports organization whose League of Legends team competes in the League of Legends Pro League. It was established in May 2015. RNG won the 2016 LPL Spring Playoffs, 2018 LPL Spring Playoffs and 2018 LPL Summer Playoffs, and is the champion of the 2018, 2021, and 2022 Mid-Season Invitational. Its sister team is Royal Club. The organization also has a Dota 2 team, which participated in The International 2019.
The Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is an annual League of Legends international tournament hosted by Riot Games in the middle of years, since 2015. It is the second most important international League of Legends tournament aside from the World Championship.
Jeong Eon-yeong, better known as Impact, is a South Korean League of Legends player for FlyQuest of the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS). Impact won the Season 3 League of Legends World Championship as a member of SK Telecom T1 K. He played for both Team Impulse and NRG Esports in the LCS, before transferring to Cloud9 in May 2016. Impact left Cloud9 after the 2017 season and joined Team Liquid, where he won four LCS titles before departing the team for Evil Geniuses after the end of the 2020 season.
Rift Rivals (RR) was a series of cross-regional League of Legends tournaments organized by Riot Games from 2017–2019. Rift Rivals was five concurrent tournaments where related regions would be pitted against each other. Teams who placed the best in the Spring Split of the year were invited to a tournament against another region's top teams. In 2019 Rift Rivals, the event was narrowed to only the two largest tournaments: the LCS (NALCS) vs. the LEC (EULCS) for North America vs. Europe, and the LPL vs. LCK vs. LMS-VCS for South Korea / China / Taiwan / Vietnam.
The 2018 Mid-Season Invitational was the fourth edition of the Mid-Season Invitational, a Riot Games-organised tournament for League of Legends, the multiplayer online battle arena video game. The tournament is the culmination of the 2018 spring split, the first part of 8th season of the game competitive scene.
The 2018 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the eighth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. It was held from October 1 to November 3, 2018, in cities across South Korea. Twenty four teams qualified for the tournament based on their placement in regional circuits such as those in China, South Korea, Europe, and North America, with twelve of those teams having to reach the group stage via a play-in round. The tournament became known for its very surprising results, numerous upsets, and has often been considered the most unpredictable worlds in League of Legends' history. The tournament also became the most watched esports event in history, reaching a peak of over 200 million concurrent viewers during the finals. It surpassed the viewership of the 2017 League of Legends World Championship, as well as the peak viewership of numerous worldwide sporting events including the Super Bowl.
The 2019 Mid-Season Invitational was the fifth Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), a Riot Games-organised tournament for League of Legends, the multiplayer online battle arena video game. The tournament was the culmination of the 2019 Spring Split, the first part of season 9 of the game's competitive scene.
Dplus KIA (DK), formerly known as DWG KIA and DAMWON Gaming, is a South Korean professional esports organization. Its League of Legends team competes in the LCK, the top-level league for the game in South Korea.
The 2021 Mid-Season Invitational was the sixth Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), a Riot Games-organised tournament for League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena video game. The tournament was the culmination of the 2021 Spring Split and the first international competition of Season 11.
The 2022 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the twelfth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. The tournament was held from September 29 to November 5 in Mexico and the United States. Twenty-four teams from 11 regions qualified for the tournament based on their placement in regional circuits such as those in China, Europe, North America, South Korea, Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau/Southeast Asia and Vietnam, with twelve of those teams having to reach the main event via a play-in stage.
The 2023 Mid-Season Invitational was the eighth Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), a Riot Games-organised tournament for League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena video game. The tournament was the culmination of the 2023 Spring Split and the first interregional competition of Season 13.
Park Jae-hyuk, better known as Ruler, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for JD Gaming. Throughout his career, he has won one League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) title, two League of Legends Pro League (LPL) titles, one Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) title, and one World Championship title.
Han Wang-ho, better known as Peanut, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for Hanwha Life Esports. Throughout his career, he has one Mid-Season Invitational title, six League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) titles and one KeSPA Cup title. He also represented the South Korean national team at the 2018 Asian Games, earning a silver medal.
The 2024 League of Legends World Championship is an upcoming esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It is the fourteenth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. The tournament will be held from September 25 to November 2 in Berlin, Paris, and London. It will be the fifth time Europe has hosted the tournament, having held the event in 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2021. Twenty teams will qualify based on placement within their regional leagues and results gained in the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI).
