We will probably have to wait a long time for an Esports swimsuit calendar, but for the right now, an article in Sports Illustrated is a great step for Esports. Focusing on League of Legends, Stephanie Apstein writes about the major advances League and Esports are making, and how both are flourishing here in the states. On si.com, we get to see the numbers League is producing compared to popular sports here:
The viewership is there: More fans (27 million worldwide) watched—online—the 2014 League of Legends world championship final between South Korea’s Samsung Galaxy White team and China’s Star Horn Royal Club than saw the clinching games of last year’s World Series (23.5 million), NBA Finals (17.9 million) or Stanley Cup finals (six million). Twitch.tv, the streaming-video site that Amazon bought last year for $970 million and that is the home of most game feeds, has more video traffic than WWE.com, MLB.com and ESPN.com combined.
If you’re surprised that video games are a spectator sport, you’re not alone. But Riot Games, the company that makes League of Legends, secured L.A.’s Staples Center for its 2013 world championship final—the culmination of a 16-team monthlong tournament that is structured like soccer’s World Cup—and sold out its 10,000 seats in less than an hour. The next year’s world championship final would fill the 40,000-seat Seoul World Cup stadium.
The fan experience in person is not unlike the fan experience online: The same broadcasters who call the games for the streaming-video audience are piped into the arena; fans get a bird’s-eye view of game action on jumbotrons that project the computer screen; and often fans are simultaneously on their phones checking their League of Legends fantasy teams. (Of course there are fantasy teams: both seasonlong ones—choose seven starters and three alternates—and daily lineups for a single day of competition.) The competitors themselves, seated in a long row across the stage, wearing headsets with two frequencies of white noise to block out the crowd and allow them to communicate, might just as well be in another room.
This article continues on to share Stephanie’s experience at The NA LCS Finals in Madison Square Garden. Worth a full read to see how somebody from outside of the scene views this huge event. Check it out here and support the growth of Esports here in the USA!
October 30, 2015
SI eSports Swimsuit Edition has Soaz on the cover with just a baguette between his legs