You might be inclined to joke about pale-faced boys pushing joysticks in windowless basements, but competitive gaming has a larger global audience than the NBA and NHL playoffs combined.
The stakes are already huge for a sports league that barely registers with the mainstream and is still formulating a code of ethics for match fixing and doping but already puts up $1 million in prize money for the global champion. L.A.-based video game developer Riot Games created League of Legends in 2009 and now runs the competitive esports league, including the filming, production and broadcasting of matches.
There is plenty to talk about --- like, what’s the perfect definition of a jungler --- but this is what you need to know as Vancouver serves as host for the second split in the North American League Championship Series.
As a coordinator for SFU eSports, gaming fan and esports reporter Rui Yang Xu said the best way to get into the scene is to watch past competitions yourself. And there is no shortage of those on the web.
“It’s hard for me to put into words just how exciting and hype it feels to be a part of the crowd,” he said.
The players don’t move from their seats in the centre of the stadium, but their on-screen LoL (what an acronym) avatars bound about the screen. For the uninitiated, it’s like going to a five-ring circus but having never seen any of the animals before and then the trapeze artists brawl with the clowns to see who is fed to the cannon.
Or perhaps it’s like any sporting event for the spectator who doesn't know their home runs from touchdowns. What colour are we cheering for? Did our team just score? What is that bright light in the sky?
“As a novice the best things to really watch out for is just the mechanical skill of some of the players,” was the advice from Xu. “Otherwise just listen to the casters as they do a really good job of pointing out interesting and important things throughout the game.”
This is what you need to know about the NA LCS Spring Split.
Where and when:
Pacific Coliseum hosts the semi-finals April 15 and 16 beginning at noon.
The championship final follows the next weekend, with the third-place game beginning April 22 and the championship final set for April 23, both beginning at noon.
What is the NA LCS:
The North American League Championship Series is a knock-out bracket based on a best-of-five, head-to-head contest in which gamers (I just can't call them athletes) play on teams of five to win at League of Legends.
The continental champion will represent North America at the mid-season invitational later this year and also earns points towards qualifying for the world championship. The prize money for the global champ is $1 million U.S.
This contest is known as the spring split, the second consecutive one held in Canada after Toronto hosted the summer split in 2016 at the Air Canada Centre.
Who is watching:
There are spectators, millions of them, who show up live and tune in to watch others play video games. More than 15,000 showed up for the summer split in Toronto last year.
It’s not about watching those players though their stony faces appear in small picture-in-picture frames, but rather about seeing their avatars combat and strategize on the massive screen.
According to games industry researcher, SuperData, the esport market made $890 million in 2016 and drew nearly 214 global spectators for gaming tournaments and matches. The majority of that audience is in Asia, but their research suggests Europe and North America are catching up.
The business opportunities are growing with the audience, an entertainment exec told Venture Beat earlier this year. “Every sport in history has been built with media companies together and these type of coops will accelerate the growth of esports,” he said.
Who is playing:
Four teams are in the semi-finals this weekend. That’s how a semi-final works, even in esport.
On Saturday, April 15, Cloud9 plays Phoenix1. On Sunday, April 16, TSM plays FlyQuest.
The winners of each match meet in the championship round April 23 at high noon.
Because there is big money to be made, competitive gaming operates a lot like franchise sports. There are owners (who also have stake in other professional leagues such as the NBA), branding, merchandise, training facilities (these boys have moved out of the basement), teammate dynamics (with in-fighting, egos and cuts included), and fans (millions of them).
- Phoenix 1 is one of the youngest teams in this tournament, they were nearly relegated from the LCS and are just barely on the other side of inter-personal drama that involved their Vancouver player, Rami “Inori” Charagh. He was briefly replaced by another player and also returned home to support his mother, who had fallen on the ice and broken her leg. (What a terrible winter we had, for the record.) This team has had multiple position changes and, according to Xu, is “one of the most exciting teams to watch.”
- Cloud 9 is a league veteran and have been a top team since entering the LCS four years ago. They have an Edmontonian on the roster, Andy “Smoothie” Ta.
- TSM is short for Team SoloMind and are one of the originals in the league. Xu described them as a powerhouse since they’ve reached every finals in LCS history and is one of the favourites to win the spring split. They have two Canadian players in Toronto’s ADC Jason “Wildturtle” Tran and Vancouver’s Vincent “Biofrost” Wang. (Perhaps someone can explain these nicknames to me.)
- Flyquest is the newest team to join the six-team LCS since climbing the ladder from the development league as the farm-team for Cloud9. Xu explained, “Since each organization can only have one team in the main league, they were sold to Fortress Investment Group and Wesley Edens, who’s the co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks.” The team still counts three of the original members of Cloud9, including Hai “Hai” Lam, considered a legendary player and one of the best at his role in the world, according to Xu.
For more information and tickets, visit the League of Legends championship series website.
Did I miss something? Let me know at mstewart@vancourier.com.
