If League of Legends is a sport — and the US government seems to agree it is — then its World Championship Final is its Super Bowl. The Final is the culmination of a season of competitive, professional league play, pitting the world’s best players of Riot’s 5-on-5 multiplayer game against each other for a prize pot of three million dollars, its games streamed live to millions of viewers across the globe.
Front row seats at professional gaming’s version of the Super Bowl
This year’s Final took place in Los Angeles’ Staples Center, home to the NBA’s Lakers and the NHL’s Kings. Buzzfeed’s Joseph Bernstein was there, and tells the story of the event: a story of cosplay, arcane language, incredibly focused Korean teenagers, and a game that’s catapulted itself to the top of a fickle market.
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