League of Legends Esport has come a long way since its conception in 2009. What was originally supposed to be no more than an experimental addition to the world’s most popular MOBA game, League Of Legends, has turned into one of the largest esports scenes on earth. By 2016, Riot Games estimated more than 100 million monthly players on League, with 27 million active daily. Professional gamers are paid salaries in six figures, while some teams play in front of sold-out arenas (the LCS 2016 World Championships had over 40 thousand people watching the final game).
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Some Facts of League Of Legends Esport:-
There’s also the fact that esports has inspired many important changes to be made within League Of Legends Esport itself, primarily regarding the balance of power between teams and broadcasters. At this point, however, League is struggling with its most important element: The community. While numbers and viewership might suggest that things couldn’t be better, recent events have shown that League’s esports scene carries too many problems for it to be considered a success story.
Those include lack of professionalism by certain players and teams, the constant threat of doping allegations, sexual harassment drama (that at one point was so bad it prompted Riot to take action against player behavior) and lack of knowledge regarding League’s own rules; something that is not helped by the game’s notoriously poor esports scene education.
Betterment of League Of Legends to be done:-
Even there can be a lot of that progress be attributed to Riot’s work ethic when developing League OF Legend Esport as an esport. The developer has constantly done everything in its power to make sure the competitive scene is treated just like its casual counterpart. There’s been much talk about how much Riot cares for their professional players, and the company has gone all-in when it comes to providing them with good conditions. In 2016 alone, they raised the minimum salary for pro players from $24 000 a year to $75 000, while team owners must now provide contracts, housing and a minimum of eight hours of training a day.
If that wasn’t enough, Riot even introduced a Player’s Association to ensure pro players have somebody they can go to when somebody is bullying them. The developer has also been very proactive when it comes to problems outside of the esports department. Sexual harassment controversies or doping allegations lightly, which often takes swift action against these issues. On the other hand, the Game Developer’s Association also proves that Riot understands how important it is to take its players’ interests into account (just like any other esports developer should).
The company has even put its money where its mouth is when it comes to investors – something that might come off as surprising, given Riot’s stance against third-party organizations. Unlike most other esports titles, League of Legends has always had only one place where teams could seek financial support for competing: Riot Games itself. This has made some investors wary of investing in League teams, but this year it was clear that the company is more than willing to change its rules when it wants. The NA LCS 2017 requires that at least half of the League teams be owned by somebody other than Riot Games, which means it is no longer their duty to provide venues or sponsors for tournaments.After all, the last thing League Of Legends Esports needs is more Riot-owned teams running around being stuffy, obnoxious and showing no care for anybody but themselves (cough*Team SoloMid*cough).
Problems faced by League of Legends Esports:-
The problem is that while every single one of these changes made by Riot Games is welcomed with open arms by the community, it’s easy to get turned off by some of Riot’s other measures. Transparency might be good for investors and sponsors, but at the end of the day, its importance for players (and fans) is almost nonexistent. The constant secrecy that surrounds everything League-related (especially things like financial details within teams) is the main reason so many fans are skeptical about esports in general, and Riot Games can not afford to have more people thinking that way.
While some might see Riot’s behavior as an attempt to keep everything for themselves, it is important to remember that they have a very good reason for being secretive about some things. It takes years of experience and constant trial and error before you can come up with a working model of an esports organization, and Riot Games might be afraid that if too much information were available to the public, potential investors would go ahead and try to copy what they think is the right way. This doesn’t mean Riot’s secrecy comes off as particularly professional (especially when it comes to releasing information to the public), but it might just be a case of ignorance.
Whether you love or hate Riot Games, there’s no denying that they are at least trying their best to make League of Legends Esport more professional. Sure, some people are still skeptical about Riot’s motives when it comes to things like transparency, but even the most pessimistic people in the world have to admit that this company is doing many things right. If Riot keeps up with these efforts in 2017, it might be on track to becoming one of the most professional esport developers out there.
