It wasn’t too long ago when Riot Games was hyping up the season two championship as being the big new thing to begin a strong focus on revolutionizing competitive gaming, or “eSports,” into something that no one has done yet. It’s a very lofty goal to set, especially with others seeking to do the same, like Major League Gaming or the Global StarCraft II League (GSL). Bars have already been set, and highly set they are. Riot Games might just be able to jump over those bars with the announcement of the League of Legends Championship Series!
Starting in Season three of ranked competitive LoL, Riot Games is creating a new international professional league for the game. It will feature salaried pro teams across the globe, regular television-broadcast quality matches via the Internet, and a(nother) multi-million-dollar prize pool. In addition to this, there will be a regular season, including playoffs, that will resemble the same structure used in the traditional format of organized sports.
League of Legends has already eclipsed some major national and international sports in terms of players and viewers. It’s unknown if the structure will help foster growth of the genre, or even of just the specific game. With the top eight teams from both North America and Europe, plus top teams from Asia, competing for regional and global dominance, I can only imagine that the excitement that will be had.
Below is a bullet-point recap put out by Riot:
- The League of Legends Championship Series: the top eight teams from the US and EU, plus top teams from the Asian regions
- The top three teams from gamescom and PAX immediately qualify
- Weekly regional pro League of Legends matches live, for free, in HD
- Millions of dollars at stake
- Regular season, regional playoffs and a spectacular World Championship
- Critical Challenger Circuit events featuring up-and-coming teams vying for a shot at the League of Legends Championship Series
