Riot Games has taken another giant step in bringing eSports into the mainstream.
The growing phenomenon (which is completely common to you and I) that is popularity in professional eSports play has caught the attention of major sports network ESPN. More specifically, Leauge of Legends is being discussed about in the same vain as professional sports – football, soccer, baseball, etc – with the players being recognized as not just gamers, but professional athletes.
In an interview with CEO Brandon Beck, Jon Robinson of ESPN delves deeper into the psyche of eSports as a business, entertainment provider, and the legitimacy of professional gaming as a career opportunity – thanks in no small part to Riot’s offer of paid salaries for professional athletes in the 2013 League of Legends Championship Series. The actual interview is much too long to reproduce in this space, but I highly recommend you give it a read here.
Instead, I’ll leave you with a quote from Mr. Beck describing Riot’s outlook towards mainstreaming their game:
“What’s really exciting about “League of Legends” is that the game was built from the ground up to be a sport.”
What do you think? Are we going to see League of Legends on SportsCenter in the future? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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