Category: Esports

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As KemperLesnik has covered before, 2021 is a pivotal year for the LCS. Its two biggest stars, Bjergsen and Doublelift, have both retired. Following another failure on the global stage at Worlds 2020, North American teams must find ways to innovate, both in terms of how they recruit players, but also how teams strategize and compete.

 

The LCS Lock-In tournament, which concluded this weekend, gave us a first glimpse at what we can expect from LCS teams in 2021. In the finals, Cloud 9 and Team Liquid showed why many analysts predicted them as the top two teams heading into the season, with Team Liquid ultimately coming out on top.

 

Despite Team Liquid and Cloud 9 being the clear favorites to dominate North America in 2021, that does not mean they’re the only teams innovating. Here are four LCS teams to keep an eye on in 2021.

TSM Looks to Rebuild Their Storied Organization

It’s impossible to discuss the LCS without covering TSM. Perhaps the most foundational organization in all of North American League of Legends, TSM sat on the LCS throne for many years. In recent times, TSM has struggled to find an identity in a constantly improving league. Long focused on the stellar performance of team captain Bjergsen, TSM struggled whenever it deviated from a Bjergsen-centric strategy.

 

Following Bjergsen’s retirement, along with that of LCS star Doublelift, TSM had to completely rebuild in 2021. Of its starting five lineup, only one player, Spica, remains from last year’s roster. TSM will look to find a new identity on the shoulders of SwordArt, who signed a $6 million two year deal. SwordArt recently made finals at Worlds with the Chinese Suning Gaming, and now must coordinate a mixture of rookies and veterans to revamp the LCS’ most storied team.

 

100 Thieves Capitalizes on Hungry Talent

One of the biggest joys of 2020 was watching the Golden Guardians compete and grow into one of the leading teams of the LCS. A roster of mostly younger talent nearly made Worlds last year before ultimately crumbling under pressure. 100 Thieves, looking to rebuild after a lackluster 2020, decided to acquire the core of this Golden Guardians roster. Joining these four players is 100 Thieves mainstay Ssumday, who has looked like one of the best players in the league despite lackluster rosters behind him.

100 Thieves will look to capitalize on the young and hungry energy of its four new players and combine that with the strength and consistency that Ssumday provides. Despite falling in the semifinals of the Lock-In tournament to Cloud 9, 100 Thieves looks leaps and bounds better than last year. By harnessing the aggression of its younger players to unlock Ssumday, 100 Thieves is a strong contender for Worlds 2021.

 

Golden Guardians Looks to Collegiate for Talent

After last year’s aforementioned near miracle run for Golden Guardians, the team had to completely rebuild for 2021. After building a roster that got acquired by 100 Thieves, Golden Guardians has developed a bit of a reputation as having an eye for new talent. However, with more teams investing into recruiting structure and their academy teams for 2021, Golden Guardians would have to get creative to find new talent.

Ironically, Golden Guardians looked where most teams in traditional sports do – college. Golden Guardians signed Niles and Iconic, two players from Maryville University, one of the leading collegiate esports programs in the country. Due to the minimum age requirement for LCS participation being 18, collegiate esports has not often been seen as a pipeline to the LCS.  Most players transition immediately from amateur play to Academy or LCS, without competing with a college team. 

 

However, college esports teams provide structure and organization that many amateur players never experience before getting to the pros. The performances of Iconic and Niles will serve as a benchmark for what we can expect from collegiate players, and may open the floodgates for collegiate teams to become a pipeline for LCS teams.

 

FlyQuest turns to Latin America

FlyQuest beat everyone’s expectations in 2020 as the team qualified for Worlds. However, similar to the Golden Guardians, their players became too valuable, and FlyQuest could not sustain those costs in 2021. Instead of turning to collegiate esports, FlyQuest looked to the minor regions, where larger regions like North America, Europe, and China have found talented players at a discount in the past.

One player that drew a lot of attention at Worlds 2020 was Argentinian Jungler Josedeodo. Although his team, Rainbow7, was knocked out during the Play-In Stage of Worlds, many players were impressed with Josedeodo’s aggressive playmaking. Josedeodo soon thereafter signed to FlyQuest, becoming the first player from the Latin America League (LLA) to sign to compete in a major region. Fellow Argentinian Newbie was soon signed to play for the Golden Guardians as well. 

 

Not only can the LLA serve as a driver for new competitive talent, but as a gateway to an entire market for LCS teams to build fandoms. LLA players are far less expensive than talent from Europe or Korea, and just as hungry to compete. FlyQuest is already looking for Spanish speaking video producers and social media managers to oversee Spanish language content. Soon, the LLA may become an unofficial feeder league for the LCS. 

 

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With 2020 behind us, the esports industry continues to adapt to a post-pandemic world. 2020 was set to be a massive year for the industry, with massive in person events coinciding with the launch of multiple esports leagues. The industry quickly pivoted to an online model, and is adapting in 2021.

 

As KemperLesnik covered in its esports trends to watch in 2021, we can expect rapid change to the industry this year. Teams will need to adapt and find new ways to generate revenue, and it’s likely that one or more major esports organizations will collapse or consolidate assets. In this article, we cover games we expect to make a big splash in 2021.

 

Wild Rift

Chinese conglomerate Tencent, which owns Riot Games, has long pushed for a mobile version of League of Legends. Despite being one of the most popular video games in the world, League of Legends missed a large share of the global gaming market by being exclusive to PC. In many markets, particularly in South America and Southeast Asia, mobile is the primary form of gaming. Riot’s goal is to extend the League of Legends IP, along with its core game mechanics, to the larger mobile market.

 

Riot has dragged its feet on developing a mobile League of Legends for quite some time. MOBAs in nature are very complicated and demand lots of computing power, along with lightspeed player input. Riot was concerned that all of what makes League of Legends such a powerhouse would be difficult to transition to mobile. However, reviews of Wild Rift have been vastly positive, even by seasoned League of Legends players.

 

Although a closed-beta is currently available in certain markets, the Wild Rift beta is not expected to reach the US until March 2021. Riot fully intends on developing Wild Rift as an esport – an initial round of competitions has already been announced in Southeast Asia.

 

Valorant

Valorant couldn’t have launched at a better time. With multiple professional players across CSGO, Overwatch, Fortnite, and Apex Legends frustrated with their respective esports ecosystems, many jumped ship to try the new shooter from Riot Games. Combining the core mechanics of CSGO, one of the most successful esports of all time, with gameplay from Overwatch, Valorant is a certified hit. 

 

This quality gameplay is further enhanced by Riot’s track record in building the most robust global esports ecosystem with League of Legends. Most esports organizations are investing in their own Valorant teams, a vote of confidence in Riot and the future of Valorant esports.

 

Despite the global pandemic restricting in person events, Riot has pushed forward with a robust schedule for Valorant esports in 2021. Starting in February, teams will compete in Challengers and Masters level events with the goal of getting seeded into the global championship.

 

Rocket League

KemperLesnik discussed Rocket League’s potential at the start of 2020 and the game exceeded our expectations. Twitch viewership for Rocket League grew to 140 million hours of content watched in 2020, up 142.6% from 2019. The game also transitioned to a free to play model in September, which significantly increased its playerbase.

 

Rocket League’s potential lies in the fact that it’s endemic to esports and its culture while being easy to understand. The game’s rules follow that of soccer, making it far less complicated than a game like League of Legends. As esports gains more attention by a mainstream audience, Rocket League is perfectly positioned for widespread popularity. Some sports properties, such as the Maui Invitational, have even extended their brand into esports through Rocket League.

 

Garena Free Fire

Although Twitch is an excellent indicator of what games are being watched and played in the Western world, YouTube is a far more representative of the global gaming audience. Garena Free Fire, a mobile shooting game, shows this disparity. Garena Free Fire didn’t crack the top 10 most viewed Twitch games of 2020, yet had over 72 billion views on YouTube. 

 

As an esport, Garena Free Fire sees massive viewership in countries like Indonesia and Brazil. LOUD, a Brazillian esports organization that primarily focuses on Garena Free Fire content, was the first esports organization in the world to reach over a billion YouTube views. The 2021 Brazillian Free Fire League (LBFF) season starts January 23rd and will be streamed on YouTube, as well as making its broadcast television debut.

 

What are your top esports for 2021? Reach out!

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Like most other industries, 2020 did not go as planned for esports. In a year packed with in person events across the globe, the global pandemic shut down events in our hometown of Chicago and abroad alike. The esports industry quickly transitioned to an online model for the remainder of 2020, in many ways returning to the industry’s roots. Online competitions are the bread and butter of esports, and world class competitions were held completely online, and even in bubbles.

 

The pandemic thrust esports, and gaming as a whole, into the spotlight, as one of the few forms of entertainment that could continue in a quarantined world. The flexibility of esports, along with its new spot in the limelight, will shape the industry as we head into 2021. 

 

Esports Organizations will Find More Ways to Diversify Revenue

The standard esports organization business model is simple – the more eyeballs an organization has, the more it can charge for brands to sponsor their teams, streamers, and content. Organizations such as TSM charge brands like Geico for promoting the insurance company in videos, Twitch streams, and more. This income is often supplemented by sales of merchandise.  

 

However, 2020 saw sponsorship revenues slow due to the pandemic. Organizations in some cases were unable to fulfill their contracts due to restricted travel and in person appearances. For organizations part of the CDL or OWL, 2020 was supposed to be the year organizations could generate revenue from ticket sales, food, and beverage, as teams hosted competitions in their home markets. 

One of the ways esports organizations have started to monetize differently is through a subscription package. Team Liquid, with Liquid+, and Cloud 9, with Stratus, offer membership subscriptions tailored to super fans. These subscriptions include exclusive merchandise, private seminars with organization leadership, and more. Esports organizations will look to find ways to monetize their brands and fandom beyond sponsorships and merchandise in 2021.

 

Rise of Casual Viewership

The second half of 2020 Twitch viewership was dominated by casual gaming. Games such as Fall Guys, Among Us, Animal Crossing and Minecraft all had explosive years on the platform. Just Chatting, a Twitch category featuring no gaming at all, simply a streamer interacting with their audience, was the most watched category on Twitch in 2020.

Unlike esports content, which is driven by high stakes competition and quality gameplay, games like Among Us drive viewership through the personality of the streamer. Gaming fans are just as willing to tune in to see a favorite streamer have fun with a game as to see the same streamer dominate in Fortnite. Games like Fall Guys and Among Us demonstrate the future of Twitch. Fast, fun game play that quickly changes pace and progression creates easy to narrate, digestible games. Read more about these games, and personality driven content, here.

 

Mass Investment in Collegiate Esports

In the wake of the pandemic, many college sporting events have been cut short or canceled. For some programs, such as Northwood University, their esports program is the only part of the athletic department currently operating. The ability for students to compete remotely in esports competitions, such as the Maui Esports Invitational, has shone a spotlight on the potential of collegiate esports.  

Not only will more colleges invest in their own collegiate esports programs, more professional esports organizations will partner with universities. By building relationships with these schools, organizations can foster strong relationships with their target market and even identify potential interns and employees. Cloud 9 has partnered with multiple universities and their esports programs across the country, holding seminars on careers in esports and more. Collegiate esports can also serve as a talent pipeline – three collegiate League of Legends players were signed to LCS teams this year. 

More Celebrities and Athletes will Participate in Esports

At the start of the pandemic, when all professional sports leagues were paused, many athletes started to participate in charity esports events. Celebrity Pro Am Call of Duty Warzone events became commonplace, organized by esports organizations such as FaZe Clan and 100 Thieves. Notable celebrity participants included Zach LaVine, Diplo, and Juju Smith-Schuster.

The majority of young people today have played video games to varying degrees. As more and more of these people that grew up with games come of age, these gaming celebrities will participate with esports. Rapper Post Malone recently invested in Team Envy, and Juju Smith-Schuster started his own esports organization. As gaming becomes increasingly mainstream, celebrities will participate in gaming events and invest in gaming companies.

 

Esports Organizations will Start to Consolidate

Exacerbated by the pandemic, many esports organizations have struggled to turn a profit. Running professional esports teams is incredibly expensive. Even in games such as Valorant, where the professional scene is new and underdeveloped, top talent can command six figure salaries. Many teams in the franchised CDL and OWL have called for decreased franchise payments as well, indicating how esports organizations are struggling to generate revenue from their massive investments.

 

As a result of these struggles, the successful esports organizations will start to consolidate the most valuable assets in the industry. Successful esports organizations that previously avoided investing in franchised slots will be able to acquire them for a discount as others bleed cash. Immortals Gaming Club, which owns slots in the LCS, CDL, and OWL, recently sold their CDL slot to 100 Thieves, and is allegedly looking to sell its OWL slot as well. 

 

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Following the Maui Esports Invitational, KemperLesnik sat down with Cody Elsen, Esports Director at Northwood University. As the winners of the first ever Maui Esports Invitational, we wanted to chat with Cody and learn more about what it takes to be a leading college esports program.

 

Hey Cody! Thanks for taking the time to speak to KemperLesnik about your esports career. Why don’t you give us a brief introduction.

Greetings! My name is Cody Elsen, and I’m the Esports Director and Head Coach at Northwood University! I have been in the Esports industry as a player/worker for about 11 years.

What were you doing before your time at Northwood University? How did you get your career started in esports?

Before Northwood, I was the Marketing/PR Manager of a large golf company in Chicago. I originally started out playing competitively in a game called Gears of War back in 2007. I played Gears of War until 2015. 

In early 2016, I founded Fable Esports, which quickly took off. We developed professional teams in games like Gears of War, Halo, Rainbow 6 and more. I used my professional experience to start the Northwood Esports program. I was hired in January of 2019.

 

How did you transition from your professional career to now becoming a coach?

I spent a ton of time watching VOD reviews and paying close attention to professional players in each game to see where the meta was at and where it could be shifting. I had to find a new work/life balance as esports demands a huge increase in hours compared to my previous career in the golf industry.

 

Tell us more about Northwood University’s esports program. When did it start and what games do you compete in?

The program started in January of 2019 and our first match was played that following September. We currently compete in Rocket league, Overwatch, League of Legends, Call of Duty, Hearthstone and Fortnite, and are adding new games each year! 

 

Are there any major differences between working with professional players as opposed to working with students?

You have to make sure that there is a balance between school work, social life and collegiate competitions. Just like at the pro level, there are still a lot of egos to deal with and that can be a challenge at times. The main difference between pros and students is the ability to adapt – students take more time to change than the pros.

How has the pandemic affected what you do as a coach, and overall for Northwood University’s esports program?

I can definitely say my workload has gone up dramatically to about 60 hours a week. Practices and scrims are very spread out due to the pandemic, with facility restraints on capacity. Despite these practice challenges, there have been some positives. We’ve gotten a lot of publicity since we’re the only varsity sport currently competing on campus. Competing in the first ever Maui Esports Invitational certainly got us some attention.

 

What do the next few years look like for Northwood and its esports program? What are your goals?

Our goal is to continue to be at the top of Rocket League and Overwatch while expanding our League of Legends team and more into top 10 teams. We want to win a national championship each year. 

 

What do you think about the current state of collegiate esports? What are its biggest issues, and what needs to happen to fix them?

I think it’s the wild wild west right now; there isn’t a ton of regulation. Contrary to popular belief, I think the NCAA being involved in some capacity would be good for the ecosystem. The biggest issue for most schools is lack of investment and continued investment in the program from a player development/recruiting and facility standpoint. I think that will all change with time. Just like a traditional sport such as football, we need to build depth and recruit top talent each year. 

 

Any other closing thoughts?

I hope more events like the Maui Invitational pop up. The majority of collegiate esports need more events to play in and better production/support. I truly believe esports are the next top 3 collegiate sport in terms of participation and viewership, it will just take time to grow.

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This has been the biggest offseason in LCS history. The franchised league for North American League of Legends has lost its two biggest stars this offseason – Bjergsen and Doublelift, who both decided to retire. Bjergsen, the star Danish Midlane of TSM for the past seven years, has retired to become TSM’s new head coach. Doublelift, “NA’s prodigal son,” has been the star of the LCS since its inception, and has been a star on multiple teams – CLG, Team Liquid, and TSM.

 

This is not the only change coming to the LCS in 2021. A new competitive structure hopes to revitalize viewership for the American audience. Another failure on the international stage has resulted in teams overhauling their rosters, for both overseas stars as well as untested rookies. 2021 will be the most impactful year for North American League of Legends since the founding of the LCS eight years ago. Here’s why.

 

LCS Veterans are Gone

With the departure of Bjergsen and Doublelift, the LCS has lost not only its two biggest stars, but also two of its longest standing competitors. In fact, of all 40 players that competed in the inaugural year of the LCS in 2013, only Zaqueri “Aphromoo” Black remains. All other players of the old guard have moved on to other roles, either as coaches, streamers, or have left esports entirely. 

While older players making room for newer talent is nothing new in sports, this is a new challenge for North American League of Legends. Bjergsen and Doublelift both called TSM home. Even as TSM struggled competitively in the first half of 2020, viewership of TSM’s matches exceeded that of more competitively successful teams like Cloud 9 and Team Liquid. Some are concerned that with a lack of star power, not only from Doublelift and Bjergsen, but also from the likes of Sneaky and Meteos, that LCS viewership will decline.

The Rise of New Stars

However, simply because old stars are leaving does not mean that new talent is not on the way. The LCS is also receiving an influx of star power from overseas from the likes of Perkz and SwordArt. In the past, foreign talent has been criticized for moving to the LCS. Compared to international competitive leagues such as LCK (Korea), Europe (LEC), and LPL (China), the LCS is viewed as less competitive while offering high paying salaries. Some LCS fans have even gone as far as calling the LCS a retirement home for pros that want to make money without trying too hard in their native competitive leagues.

Despite record breaking contracts, Perkz ($5 million) and SwordArt ($6 million) are not looking to retire. Perkz’s move to the LCS reflects his desire to return back to the Midlane position after two years playing Bot for G2. If anything, we can expect Perkz to be hungrier than ever to perform well. SwordArt, having recently placed second at Worlds with Suning Gaming, is looking to be the captain of whichever team he joins. Signing with TSM, SwordArt has the opportunity to work with new head coach Bjergsen to restructure TSM for years to come.

On top of LCS teams signing new international stars, the LCS has seen a massive influx of rookie talent for the 2021 season. Golden Guardians, a team known for signing younger talent, recently signed two players from Maryville University, the top League of Legends program in the country. Notably, this is the first time we’ve seen an LCS team sign players that have proven themselves in collegiate competition. 

The LCS has also received a massive amount of “native” talent from Australia and New Zealand. With the closing of the competitive league for the Oceania region, the OPL, all talent from Oceania is now considered native talent for North America. A common complaint from LCS teams is the lack of native talent in the region – even countries like Korea have more people that play League of Legends despite being far smaller. With this new injection of hungry talent from Oceania, the talent pool for the LCS has never been larger.

Structural Changes to the LCS

Though no official announcement has yet been made by Riot, League of Legends reporter Travis Gafford broke a story on structural changes for the 2021 LCS season. As opposed to having a spring and summer split, broken up by a midseason invitational and two playoffs, the LCS will move to a single season in 2021. No other leagues are reportedly changing their structure at this time.

A common critique of the LCS structure has been the insignificance of the spring split. In previous years, performing well in spring meant circuit points that could count towards attending that year’s Worlds. However, this has repeatedly backfired, with teams that performed well in spring falling off dramatically in the summer split, attending Worlds and performing poorly. In 2020, the LCS reformatted how teams qualified for Worlds, thus making the spring split essentially obsolete. 

Despite objectively having the best three teams from NA attending Worlds in 2020, there is no doubt that viewership suffered with nothing at stake for the first half of the year. By reformatting the LCS to one season, not only does the LCS become more familiar to traditional sports fans, it also makes matches matter more – every match can have an impact on end of year standings. 

The Second Generation of LCS

With nearly all foundational players of the early days of League of Legends retired, the LCS is about to enter its second generation. This will be a true test for the biggest franchised esports league in the US. Will the league be able to sustain itself without the star power it once had? Can a new generation of stars and rookies take the LCS to the next level of esports success? 2021 will prove to be a make or break year for the LCS as viewership stagnates and fans are at their limits when it comes to failures on the international stage.

 

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The esports industry has been an investment target for traditional sports leadership for multiple years. Andy Miller, co-owner of the Sacramento Kings, launched NRG Esports, which owns the Chicago Huntsmen and San Francisco Shock, in 2015. Miller has brought many athletes with him to his esports venture, including Shaquille O’Neal and Alex Rodriguez. Sports organizations have also made investments into esports organizations, including ownership behind the Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Cleveland Cavaliers. Even Steph Curry, star of the Golden State Warriors, made an investment in TSM.

Recently, multiple athletes have launched their own esports organizations. David Beckham launched Guild Esports in June of 2020, and the company has already gone public on the London Stock Exchange and raised $52.3 million. Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Juju Smith Schuster, an avid gamer, recently launched his own esports organization, Diverge Esports. Other athletes heading their own esports organizations include Jeremy Lin and Jonas Jerebko.

 

Why are Athletes Investing in Esports?

Esports, or professional gaming, is experiencing a figurative gold rush. According to Business Insider, total esports viewership is expected to grow at 9% CAGR between 2019 and 2023. This growth reflects a near doubling of viewership in six years – the esports audience in 2017 was roughly 335 million. Business Insider estimates the esports audience will reach 646 million in 2023.

Athletes have increasingly used their professional sports league salaries to invest in other ventures. By leveraging large cash reserves, as well as a strong personal brand, athletes can quickly turn their influence into successful businesses. Shaquille O’Neal is a prime example – the basketball star used to own 155 Five Guys burger stands. Shaq has also recently joined the Board of Directors of Papa John’s, investing in nine stores, while also becoming an official spokesman. 

Shaq himself has invested in an esports team, NRG Esports. By leveraging his great personality, he offers not only cash, but also marketing and promotion that only someone like him can offer. When NRG announced the signing of Fortnite star Clix, Shaq was front in center, creating content with NRG’s Benjyfishy. Athletes investing into esports teams can create crossover promotions, make big announcements, and legitimize the team and its players as true athletes.

Authenticity

Despite the benefits athletes can bring to the esports table, legitimacy is a real concern. Alex Rodriguez, the baseball star that invested in NRG Esports alongside Shaq, has questioned the health of today’s youth  that spend large amounts of time gaming. Though being physically active is of course important for our health, ARod’s comments call into question the authenticity of his investment in NRG. His investment could potentially be received as capitalizing on rapid growth of an industry as opposed to truly caring about esports – which can quickly backfire in the quick to judge gaming community.

David Beckham’s latest endeavor, Guild Esports, has too been questioned for legitimacy. The soccer star, who also owns an MLS team, was publicly announced as an investor of Guild Esports in June 2020<. Guild quickly looked to IPO on the London Stock Exchange, which immediately called its authenticity into question. The company looked to quickly raise money despite fielding less than ten esports players or streamers, which the gaming community saw as a red flag. 

Beckham’s authenticity was further questioned when it was revealed that he was paid $20 million in exchange for being the face of the brand. Prior to investing, Beckham entered into an influencer agreement with Guild to promote and offer his likeness to the esports team. In return, Beckham will receive an annual fee of 15% of the proceeds of merchandising and sponsorship revenue. Though a great deal for Beckham, this cedes any credibility he has as a true believer in esports.

How Can Athletes Improve Esports?

Athletes help legitimize esports and its players as true competitors. Rick Fox, former Laker and owner of Echo Fox, brought legitimacy to esports just as the industry was starting to get mainstream attention. The basketball star originally started playing League of Legends as a way to bond with his son. Fox took his son to professional League of Legends matches, and soon was hooked himself. Convinced of the business opportunity, Rick Fox launched Echo Fox and acquired an LCS spot.

Although Echo Fox ran into managerial problems on the corporate side, Rick Fox became a true ambassador for esports. As a former athlete himself, he saw the same drive and competitive streak in the players he signed to Echo Fox. Whenever Rick Fox appeared on mainstream media such as TMZ, he was quick to discuss Echo Fox and the legitimacy of his players. At a time when esports athletes weren’t considered athletes at all, Fox, who has played at the highest level of sport, was quick to correct the naysayers.

Juju Smith Schuster, who recently started Diverge Esports, has the same opportunity. As one of the NFL’s wide receivers, Schuster has been known as an avid gamer for years. As an esports team owner, Schuster combines a passion for gaming with the knowledge he’s gained as an athlete in the NFL. As an industry climbing into the mainstream, esports will need to standardize how it evaluates talent, handles practice, and more. More advocates like Smith and Fox will ensure a proper transition. 

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Held each year, the League of Legends World Championship, better known as Worlds, is the pinnacle of esports competition. Teams from twelve different regions compete over the course of the year for an opportunity to represent their region, and a chance to hoist the Summoner’s Cup. This year, Worlds has taken place in a bubble system in Shanghai, and even plans to have an audience for its finals at Pudong Soccer Stadium, which seats over 33,000 attendants.

A common theme of Worlds each year is the performance of North American teams – teams representing the LCS on the global stage. Though a team from Asia has won Worlds each year since 2012, Western teams have made deep runs in the past. European teams have made the finals multiple times, and Cloud 9 of the LCS made it to the semifinals in 2018.

However, in recent years, North America has struggled to make a dent at Worlds. Cloud 9 is the only NA esports team to make it to the top eight since 2014. In both 2019 and 2020, no North American team made it out of the group stage, failing to qualify as a top eight team. This year, TSM, the top team of the LCS, failed to win a single game at Worlds. Frustrated by their region’s inability to perform, LCS fans have clamored for players and coaches to be fired, and for esports teams to be restructured. Fans blame North America’s talent pool and lack of infrastructure for its poor showings.

Talent Pool

North America’s talent pool is smaller than any of the other major regions: China, Korea, and Europe. Though not an official representation of the sizes of player bases (this information is private), many look at the size of the ranked population for each major region to assess player base. Ranked, the competitive mode of League of Legends where players compete on a competitive ladder, serves as a proxy for how many gamers actively look to better their rank in League of Legends.

 

According to studies posted on Reddit through the use of OP.GG, an online platform that uses Riot’s official API, Korea has the largest ranked player base at roughly 3 million, compared to Europe’s 2.6 million and North America’s 1.6 million. Tracking Chinese data is quite difficult, but China itself supports fourteen different servers, suggesting populations much larger. Despite the US and Canada having a total population reaching 360 million, North America’s ranked population is significantly smaller than Korea’s. Due to this lack of natural born talent, teams have resorted to importing players from other regions. Of the fifteen players that represented the LCS at Worlds this year, only six were NA residents.

 

Importing is not inherently bad – Chinese teams have imported Korean players for years and have won multiple championships. However, this Korean talent is used more to augment Chinese talent than to replace it. New, native talent is constantly feeding into Chinese League of Legends. However, this is not true in the LCS. The annual “Rookie of the Year” award often only has one or two new players to choose from, despite there being fifty starting players competing in the LCS each year. Too much importing has led to a drought of NA native talent.

Infrastructure

The lack of new NA talent is partly derived from the lack of amateur systems to support new talent on the path to pro. Riot’s regulations on who can run League of Legends tournaments prohibits most tournament organizers from hosting amateur tournaments. Small events, supplemented by prize pools, provide supplemental income and a platform for new talent to prove itself.

Riot has proven capable of creating supplemental leagues in other regions, most notably its European Masters league. These smaller European leagues filter into a larger, European circuit, which itself serves as a secondary league to the LEC, Europe’s top League of Legends competition. By creating seven smaller, country/region based leagues in Europe, European organizations are incentivized to create teams and foster new talent development.

North America has two systems to foster new talent growth – the Academy league and collegiate teams. The LCS requires all LCS teams to field an Academy roster, which competes in weekly matches and has its own playoffs, similar in structure to the LCS. However, these Academy rosters are more often used as a bench for older players – people worth keeping on the payroll but not worth playing in the LCS.

 

The Scouting Grounds, an annual competition hosted by Riot Games, takes the top twenty players from the online ladder and invites them to compete in a combine event. Players have the opportunity to work with LCS coaches and management, and LCS teams are awarded draft picks. Though a step in the right direction, only five players were signed to positions of the twenty that participated in Scouting Grounds 2019, all of which were to Academy rosters.

Collegiate League of Legends proves a more interesting opportunity for talent development. Collegiate esports has exploded in recent years – reaching $15 million in scholarships in 2018. College esports programs have their own coaches and managers, and can help serve as a facilitator between amateur and professional play. As of now, only a few players have gone from a collegiate program to LCS Academy rosters – none yet have made it to the LCS. By establishing more formal relationships between top esports universities and esports organizations, there can be an LCS feeder system, much like what is seen now in traditional sports.

What’s Next for North American League of Legends?

Although this year has been a disappointment for North American League of Legends fans, all hope is not lost. With proper support, NA is capable of producing quality players. Rookies “Tactical” and “Spica”, members of Team Liquid and TSM respectively, both received praise for their performances at Worlds this year. Despite this being their first year of play at the highest level, both players kept level heads and made big plays in clutch moments at Worlds.

North America’s talent pool is also about to grow thanks to Riot closing down its Oceanic competition. All players from Australia and New Zealand now count as native NA talent, growing North America’s talent pool by roughly 10%. North America first started taking notice of Oceania as a possible target for imports last year, with Cloud 9, Golden Guardians, and 100 Thieves all signing talent from the region last year.

 

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In Chicago Esports Spotlight, KemperLesnik interviews a leader of the Chicago esports community. This issue features Kevin O’Brien, Co-Founder and COO of GGLeagues, a competitive platform for esports players of all skill levels. Our first follow-up, we learn about how GGLeagues has developed since our chat with CEO Erich Bao.

Hi Kevin! Thanks for taking the time to chat with us today. Tell us more about yourself and GGLeagues.

Thanks for having me!

My name is Kevin O’Brien and I am the COO and co-founder of GGLeagues. I currently live in Chicago, IL but was born in Delaware. In my spare time, you might find me playing Valorant, Rocket League, or Fall Guys.

GGLeagues, a Chicago startup, is building the foundation for recreational esports and provides a full service solution to bring gaming leagues and tournaments to communities.

What inspired you to join Erich Bao and the GGLeagues team?

What inspired me to join Erich Bao and the GGLeagues team was the mission of the company. GGLeagues has always been set on creating a more inclusive environment for the gaming community and that is something that is desperately needed. My passion is for building communities and creating a space where people feel they can come together.

Would you mind sharing more about your background? What led you to esports and what kind of work were you doing previously?

My journey started in the hospitality industry. I went to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY and from there, worked in prestigious restaurants in New York, Florida, and Illinois.. My goal was to start my own company which led me to go to DePaul University to get a degree in finance. During my time at DePaul University, I fell in love with the esports industry.

I started the Esports Student Leadership Board at DePaul University with one goal in mind: To raise awareness of the esports and gaming industry so students can become the next generation of industry leaders. My goal was not to create the next professional team, but to allow every student the opportunity to learn about how they can apply their degree to the gaming and esports industry.

What has GGLeagues been up to lately? Any new projects?

Over the past six months, we have been working more with park districts and cities across the country to bring leagues and tournaments to their communities. With youth sports being cancelled and remote learning on the rise due to COVID-19, we have seen a real need for more virtual community engagement.

Something we are extremely excited about is that we are launching the first national esports rec leagues for both youth and adults.
What this means is that ANY company that would like to engage with their communities through gaming can do so using the GGLeagues platform. Similar to an intramural kickball league, we believe esports can provide after-work camaraderie. GGLeagues provides the opportunity for organizations to join other organizations in state-wide leagues or have the ability to run private leagues.

We’ve seen a lot of investment into esports lately. What has it been like to raise an investment round when esports is getting plenty of attention?

That is exactly right. There have been a TON of investments into the esports industry recently. For us, it is not just about finding an investor – but finding the right group of strategic partners. We not only would like to find strategic partners that can lend insight into our business as we grow, but for GGLeagues to be able to provide value to the strategic partners we bring on.

 

Thanks for taking the time, Kevin! Be sure to support Chicago Esports and visit GGLeagues here.