Professional League of Legends Sparks Career Interest Across the Region

Abundant Opportunities available for collegiate esports athletes.

It’s a sporting event that fills stadiums like the Staples Center with fans from all around the world.

It includes incredible opening ceremonies, and the best cyber athletes on the planet.

It’s not the Olympics. It’s the League of Legends World Championship.

The World Championship is filled with everything that makes a sporting event exciting. Explosive action, a professional broadcast, and die-hard fans.

Last year, the final match was watched live by 205 million people, and while most video game tournaments lose popularity, the League of Legends train shows no signs of stopping.

The continued popularity of League of Legends is no surprise to its fans. It is fun, easily accessible, and enjoyed by a wide community around the world.

Stephen Furness started watching professional League of Legends nearly 6 years ago, and has been hooked ever since.

“Seeing so many different teams from so many different places from all across the world, so many different faces, it was really just inspiring, it was so incredible seeing all these different people coming together.” said Stephen.

For him, seeing the professionals take the game to new heights, as well as accomplishing the impossible, keeps him on the edge of his seat.

Joshua Knutson runs the esports division of ByteSpeed, and keeps a close eye on everything going on with the tournament.

The professional scene has major implications for collegiate level esports competitors in our region and major esports organizations often scout college teams for students looking to make the game into a career.

The competitive play is even spreading to the high school level, where Willinston High School has started their own esports team.

“Gaming is such a huge industry, it’s millions and millions, and millions of dollars, and there is tons of jobs available depending on what your interests are. The collegiate esports realm is a great stepping stone to getting a job at the professional level, whether it be as a player or as a support staff in a different way.” said Joshua.

The World Championship Series starts on October 2nd this year and it’s easy to get involved in all the fun.

You do not need a cable subscription, just access to the internet and the free streaming platform Twitch.tv.

So what do you need to know if you’re a first time viewer?

From now until August, teams from around the world will be competing to get into the playoffs for their region, and right now is the time to start watching, and find your favorite team.

“SKT all the way, I’ve been a die–hard SK Telecom fan ever since Season 3.”

Whether you are a brand new fan, or a college student looking to make it big, you’ll want your eyes glued to the broadcast this summer.

You can watch League of Legend’s matches live on the Riot Games Twitch Channel.

For a brief guide on getting started with watching the broadcasts, watch this YouTube video by Riot Games.