LoL World Championships Kicks Off, Has Ridiculous Trailer
Videogames, they said, and such it was.
E-sports continues, wonderfully, to become its own parody. The League of Legends World Championships kicked off today with the sixteen best teams, having qualified throughout the year, competing over the next month to decide who's best. Chances are you can watch it right now, either live or on rebroadcast as they seem to be aiming for a 24/7 schedule. In celebration, Riot have put together an animated trailer showcasing the most common attributes of League players - hoodies and superpowers. It's likely sillier than you're imagining.
Right down to that backing track being a specially commissioned Imagine Dragons piece (yes, really), this couldn't be more e-sports. I actually love it, an honest expression of the excitement and gravitas placed on the game by its players, knowingly ludicrous in its straight-faced execution. I do commend Riot's extreme optimism that the grand final will feature anyone from a country west of Beijing. Predictably, these competitions are usually dominated by Taiwanese, Korean and Chinese teams.
It's hot on the heels of the equally hype-building Road to Worlds documentary, the third and final part of which released on Monday. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it quite informative, introducing the players and their teams and doing a good job of paying homage to the roots of e-sports in Korea. That's where the grand final is to take place, in the World Cup stadium no less.
Speaking of which, you'll probably want to tune in to the finale even if you're not a LoL fan. Riot put on an impressive spectacle whether you've knowledge of the game or not and, like me, chances are you'll have no idea what your mates are talking about otherwise. It's scheduled for Sunday, October 19th at a surprisingly sleep-friendly 8am British time (check your own here).