Twenty-one thousand ecstatic fans in Los Angeles’ Staple Center fanatically cheered on their favorite players and teams as they were introduced. But instead watching a game with the Los Angeles Lakers, fans flocked there to see the 2016 League of Legends Championship game.
A 5 vs. 5 multiplayer battle arena game created by developer Riot Games in 2009, League of Legends has amassed a player community of nearly 67 million people.
Sophomore Enzo Coglitore was among this colossal crowd on Oct. 29, rooting for the underdog team Samsung Galaxy, who was matched up against last year’s champions, SKT. Galaxy, a young team with many new players, were expected to fall to SKT, who dominated the scene last year.
Coglitore has been playing Blizzard Entertainment’s version of League of Legends for the past three years and holds the rank of Platinum, the fourth highest out of seven tiers.
“I went because I love the game. I like playing it, I like watching it, and I like improving,” Coglitore said.
Upon arriving, the first thing that stood out to him was the giant statues that surrounded the entrance of the arena. All the facial features and detailed clothing represented the life-size characters in the game, Coglitore said.
After seeing the countless enthusiastic fans dressed as various “heroes,” he couldn’t wait to get a glimpse of inside the stadium and meet the actual teams.
The match began with introductions of the 5 members of both teams, each player receiving an enthusiastic roar from the crowd. Two large screens were lowered from the top of the stadium, revealing a huge screen for the fans to watch different parts of the “map”.
The game began with a slow start from team Galaxy, but they slowly made their way back into the match. Coglitore described the atmosphere as “extremely spirited and loud,” and whenever one of the nine player teams completed a good play, the crowd suddenly erupted into cheers.
“People all around me were on their feet screaming, and it was a really crazy place, especially when the other team started to make a comeback,” Coglitore said.
Although SKT was favored to win, a big play by Galaxy near the end gave them a huge advantage and an ultimate win. At the end of the match, Galaxy claimed the championship title and $5 million in prize money. Coglitore said he would consider going next year as well.
“I was impressed with the high level play on both teams, and felt like I became a better player myself,” Coglitore said. “Even though I was behind on school work when I got back home, it was totally worth it.”
