GAMING: League of Legends gains popularity at a staggering speed in the online gaming community.
By Miguel Toner, Staff Writer
I was first introduced to League of Legends by Riot Gaming through my good friend Tyler. At first I didn’t really think much of it because I knew, as cool as the actual concept of the game sounded, that I wouldn’t take the game seriously. Because of this, I made my username PrincessGirl225. I played a couple of matches and found that the game wasn’t really my style, but many of my friends kept at it. Two years later, despite my initial dislike of the game, League of Legends became a huge success.
The basic premise of the game is that each player chooses a champion and battles with other people, trying to defeat their opponent by destroying his or her base. It also has a ranking system that determines how skilled a player is and matches him or her against others who are in that specific player’s game range. As a beginner, I am ranked bronze. An amateur would be ranked silver, gold or platinum, and a professional would be ranked Master or Challenger. One’s rank can move up and down depending on how often and how well he or she plays. The matches usually last about 40 minutes and are extremely entertaining to play and watch.
With the Season Four World Championship taking place in South Korea and many other places like Sweden and Los Angeles, many people, including Poly students have been tuning in and keeping track of their favorite teams. The Season One World Championship in 2011 had only eight qualifying teams and grew to 16 in only three years. Even the money that is won by the champion team was doubled. The 16 teams competing this year come from all over the world and are set up against each other in groups of four. With quarterfinals completed, the top eight teams were selected, and the competition is fierce. Nothing says good old-fashioned family fun like a death match between mystical beings!
With the professional gamer’s salary at a sizable $50,000 to $60,000 a year plus endorsements, online gaming is becoming a real career for those who are legendary and skilled enough to join the select few in that league. The winning championship team will be awarded one million dollars.
Riot Gaming is probably having a riot over League of Legend’s success. With their game getting this big and legendary, who wouldn’t? The competition for online gaming better watch out because League of Legends is on the rise.