Summary

  1. A warm welcome during an ‘esports winter’published at 13:14 Greenwich Mean Time 2 November

    Andrew Rogers
    BBC Newsbeat, reporting from the O2 Arena

    Hello and thank you for joining us as we cover the very exciting finals of League of Legends Worlds.

    There’s no doubt that people here are hyped. Everywhere you look, fans are wearing shirts of their favourite teams in the final: BLG from China, and more often, Korea’s T1.

    Politicians and organisers are keen to highlight the economic benefits of this event, and it will undoubtedly provide a boost as people travel in from across the UK and the world. Tickets sold out in minutes.

    But it’s not all good news. Some have called the last few years an "esports winter", because so many teams and tournaments have run into financial troubles and shut down. Arguably, the UK’s esports scene was more vibrant a decade ago, with more teams and more mid-sized events. Since then, money has dried up.

    So while bringing Worlds to the UK is a massive vote of confidence, teams and organisers of smaller competitions will be hoping this isn’t just a flash in the pan.

  2. What is the League of Legends World Championships?published at 13:08 Greenwich Mean Time 2 November

    Screenshot of League of Legends gameplay featuring seven players in battleImage source, Riot Games
    Image caption,

    A screenshot from last week's showdown during which BLG took on fellow Chinese team WBG

    League of Legends (LoL) is a multiplayer game in which 10 players go head-to-head in a 5v5 match, competing to be the first to destroy the opposing team’s base.

    Launched in 2009, it has since hooked over 100 million players from more than 145 countries, according to its developer, Riot Games.

    There are competitive leagues and championships across the globe, including in North America, Latin America, China, and South Korea. It's much like football, with a barrage of international and national competitions celebrated by millions of fans.

    Among these events, the grandest is the World Championships (Worlds).

    This event is truly top-tier - it's the world's most popular esports tournament, boasting a peak of 6.4 million viewers last year, according to Statista.

    And for the first time ever, the finals are being held in London!

  3. This is the world championship finals of the biggest esports gamepublished at 13:05 Greenwich Mean Time 2 November

    Tinshui Yeung
    Live page editor

    Spectators cheer on as they watch T1 compete against GEN.G at Adidas Arena in ParisImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Fans cheer during the semi-finals at Adidas Arena in Paris last weekend

    Welcome to our live coverage of the UK's biggest esports event of the year - the League of Legends World Championships (LoL Worlds) Finals at the O2 Arena. Our team is all set to capture the electric atmosphere and provide you with instant reports of the match.

    If you're new to the Summoner’s Rift, don’t worry! We’ll break down the game basics so you can follow along.

    We're poised to see which team will claim the world championship title and the $450,000 (£346,000) prize.

    And you’ll be right here with us.