eSports: The Next Great Spectating Sport
Are video games the next great sporting event in the world? For players of League of Legends, the answer is yes.
League of Legends has over 27 million players per day.
League of Legends is a video game in which five players work together to destroy the base of their opponents. With over 27 million people playing daily and over 1.5 million views online, League of Legends also has a highly competitive following. League of Legends is hosting its World Championship this month to determine the best five-player team in the world. In the past, for its annual North American Championship, League of Legends sold out at Madison Square Garden twice.
So why is this video game is so popular?
Max Millsaps, a senior Spanish major at North Greenville University and avid video player, said, “It’s something that we all can relate to. It’s a game that we all can play and watch together.”
“When you see someone make an amazing play, you feel like you are making it so you get just as hyped for it,” he added.
There are those who believe that video games are not considered a sport, but Millsaps begs to differ.
“Video games require a lot of physical and mental skill when play. Whether it’s them reacting to what is going on or them clicking the mouse to move around the correct way, they are using their abilities to help them,” he said.
League of Legends’ World Championship is currently taking place in Europe. The most recent event took place on a group stage in Paris in front of a sell out crowd and millions watching around the globe on the Internet. Semifinals will resume Saturday, Oct.22th at 1:30 on twitch.tv to determine which teams will continue and which will go home.
With an exponentially growing fan base, League of Legends is changing the entire video game community.
