Esports is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although organized competitions have long been a part of video game culture, these were largely between amateurs until the late 2000s, when participation by professional gamers and spectatorship in these events through live streaming saw a large surge in popularity. By the 2010s, esports was a significant factor in the video game industry, with many game developers actively designing and providing funding for tournaments and other events.
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 70-pound (32-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: Season 2 World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends, held from October 4 to October 13, 2012, in Los Angeles, California. It was the second iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. The tournament was won by Taipei Assassins who defeated Azubu Frost 3–1 in the final.
The League Championship Series (LCS) is the top level of professional League of Legends in the United States and Canada. The esports league is run by Riot Games and has ten franchise teams. Each annual season of competition is divided into two splits, spring and summer, which conclude with a double-elimination tournament between the top eight teams. At the end of the season, the winner, runners-up and third-place team of the summer playoffs qualify for the annual League of Legends World Championship.
Lee Sang-hyeok, better known as Faker, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for T1. Formerly known as GoJeonPa on the Korean server, he was picked up by LCK team SK Telecom T1 in 2013 and has played as the team's mid laner since. He is widely considered to be the best League of Legends player of all time.
Cloud9 Esports, Inc., or simply Cloud9 (C9), is an American professional esports company based in Santa Monica, California. The company was originally founded as a professional League of Legends team founded by Jack and Paullie Etienne in May 2013 and was incorporated into Cloud9 Esports, Inc. on September 6, 2016. Cloud9 has received US$78 million in total raised equity via venture capital funding and was ranked the world's second-most valuable esports organization in 2020.
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 Garena Premier League (GPL) was a professional League of Legends esports league with teams in Southeast Asia. It was founded in 2012. The opening event took place on May 5 with Riot's CEO Brandon Beck, VP of Gaming Dustin Beck, Taiwanese game designer Jeff Lin, and Nikasaur attending personally. It is the first regional professional esports competition of League of Legends in the world. In last season - 2018 Spring - the league consists of 5 teams who are the champions of 5 national leagues in Southeast Asia. The top four teams of group stage are advanced to the playoff, which are held in a best-of-5 single elimination system.
The 2014 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament held from September 18 to October 19, 2014, for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the fourth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. Matches were held in Taipei, Singapore, Busan, and Seoul, with grand finals being at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul, South Korea. The 16 teams qualified by either winning a major professional league or a regional qualifying tournament. There was a 16 team round-robin group stage followed by an 8 team single elimination bracket. The games were officially streamed on Twitch and Azubu in several languages and the finals were aired online on ESPN3.
The 2015 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the fifth 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 31 in various cities across Europe: the group stages in Le Dock Pullman, in Paris, France; the quarterfinals at the Wembley Arena in London, England, United Kingdom; the semifinals in the Brussels Expo in Brussels, Belgium; and the finals at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany. The 16 teams qualified by either winning a professional league or a regional qualifying tournament. There was a 16 team round-robin group stage followed by an 8 team single elimination bracket. The games were officially streamed on Twitch, YouTube and Azubu in several languages. The BBC also streamed the tournament online on BBC Three but for United Kingdom IP addresses only. A peak of around 14 million concurrent viewers watched the finals, according to official sources.
ahq eSports Club is a Taiwanese professional esports organization with teams competing in League of Legends, Arena of Valor, A.V.A, and Heroes of the Storm. Their League of Legends team was formed in September 2012 and previously competed in the Pacific Championship Series, the successor to the League of Legends Masters Series. After winning the 2015 LMS Summer Playoffs, AHQ qualified for the 2015 World Championship, where they placed fifth to eighth after losing to SKT T1 in the quarterfinals.
The League of Legends European Championship (LEC) is the professional League of Legends esports league run by Riot Games in Europe, in which ten teams compete. Each annual season of play is divided into two splits, spring and summer, both consisting of nine weeks of round-robin tournament play, which then conclude with play-off tournaments between the top six teams. At the end of the season, the top performing teams qualify for the annual League of Legends World Championship. The LEC represents the highest level of League of Legends play in Europe.
Gambit Esports, formerly Gambit Gaming, is a Russian esports organization owned by telecommunications company MTS. It was established in January 2013 after the acquisition of the former League of Legends roster of Moscow Five.
League of Legends esports is the professional competition of the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It is developed and published by Riot Games and was first released in 2009..
The Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) is the name of a professional League of Legends esports league run by Riot Games and Garena. From 2013 to 2017, the VCS was a tier below Garena Premier League (GPL). In 2018, the VCS broke away from the GPL and became a separate tier one league. The Vietnamese teams have the opportunity to participate directly in international events of League of Legends organized by Riot Games without having to participate in the GPL.
DetonatioN Gaming is a Japanese professional esports organization with teams competing across several titles. It was originally established as a Counter-Strike Online team in July 2012.
MEGA Esports is a professional esports organization based in Bangkok, Thailand. It formerly had a League of Legends team competing in the League of Legends SEA Tour (LST), Southeast Asia's top professional league, as well as Dota 2 and Overwatch teams.
PSG Talon is a professional League of Legends team formed from a partnership between PSG Esports and Talon Esports. Talon Esports' original League of Legends team was founded on 18 December 2019.
The League of Legends division of Cloud9 (C9) is a gaming team based in Los Angeles, California, and competes in the League Championship Series (LCS), the top-level professional league for video game League of Legends in the United States and Canada.
The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang World Championships is an annual international esports tournament for the game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang wherein teams worldwide would be facing off each other to become the Worldwide Champion for Mobile Legends. The yearly tournament is presented by Moonton and has been held thrice.
