On the eve of the biggest event in the League of Legends calendar – the World Championship finals – Riot were in the mood for a Q&A. To that end, founders Marc Merrill and Brandon Beck took to a little stage in Seoul’s World Cup Stadium, alongside Vice President of eSports Dustin Beck. They were sitting on metal stools holding mics, so I was vaguely wondering whether there would be an announcement like “Well, this eSports stuff is great and all but we’ve decided to form a boyband.”
That didn’t happen, more’s the pity. They also didn’t use the term “esport-thlete” for pro gamers. Seriously. What’s it going to take to get that one into common parlance? In fairness, despite the aforementioned shortcomings they did say a fair bit about the direction they’re hoping to take LoL over the coming year – particularly the competitive side of things. I’ve pulled out some of the themes and highlights for your consideration below and also added in a few bits and bobs from my own brainbone.