Global e-Sports
The eighth League of Legends World Championship has kicked off in Korea. The total prize money for this year is estimated at five billion won at the least. Last year’s final match in Beijing attracted an audience of more than 40,000, with more than 57 million fans watching it at home worldwide.
This year’s championship takes place in South Korea for the first time in four years. The qualifying rounds kicked off on October 1 and the final match is scheduled for November 3. A total of 24 teams from 14 regions such as South Korea, China, North America and Europe compete for a prize money of US$2.225 million and special skins estimated at three billion won or more. Last year’s total prize money was US$4.94 million.
According to e-Sports Earnings, a total of 2,134 League of Legends tournaments have been held worldwide from September 2010 to late last month with a total prize money of US$56.57 million, which ranks third behind Dota 2 tournaments (US$169.7 million) and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (US$62.02 million).
The League of Legends was launched in 2009 in North America and in 2011 in South Korea. In the game, 10 users forming two teams aim to destroy the opponent’s nexus building by using various weapons and magical skills.