The scene is set, a huge $1,000,000 prize is at stake and the pressure is mounting in front of the sold out Staples Center audience. The players take their last few moments to prepare their keyboards and screens; this is League of Legends, and it is forcing the rest of the world to reconsider what truly defines a sport.
The popular, free-to-play online game has captured the attention of millions of gamers around the world. Its fan base has multiplied significantly ever since its release in 2009. League of Legends, or more commonly known as just “League” by its community, has also expanded into a professional circuit, named the League Championship Series.
“The LCS is a huge competitive circuit, it adds to the professionalism, the fans watch their favorite teams every week, as well as buy gear and in game stuff,” said senior Josh Veenstra.
League utilizes its worldwide fan base to stream the professional leagues and broaden its community.
The North American LCS broadcasts from Los Angeles, while the European LCS broadcasts from Germany. Professional gaming known as electronic sports or more simply put, “e-sports”.
The term e-sports is a demarcation that separates League and other video games from traditional mainstream sports like football, basketball, and soccer.
“In my opinion, we need to differentiate [e-sports] because they are not true sports. E-sports is a good name already because even though it’s not a sport, it still deserves a good name,” said Veenstra.
The players for professional teams in the LCS consider themselves athletes because they dedicate their lives to perfecting their in-game mechanics.
The professional divisions of League and any game in particular requires an incredible amount of time and a high degree of perfection while playing.
“These players possess a lot of skills that other people don’t, if they are getting paid to play [League], then I would consider it a sport,” said junior Ryan Curtis.
The professional players stream their personal practice sessions on a site named Twitch, where fans are able to interact and watch them play.
“There are usually at least 30 to 40,000 fans watching these players at a time, just like how a sport like soccer has thousands of people tuned in to watch at the same time,” said Curtis.
Real athletes still believe that League of Legends does not replicate the rigorous and demanding work required to play sports.
“League of Legends is just a video game. In my opinion, sports are when you are active, involved in physical activity, sweating, and just working really hard,” said Veenstra.
The reality, however, is that the industry itself is young and it will continue to flourish in the future. League of Legends community is constantly growing and is well represented at WS.
“League is life,” said sophomore Clyde Dixon.