The game that is making waves all over the world. From having millions of players and viewers for its tournaments to having pro players recognized as professional athletes in some countries, its eSports scene is one of the largest and only growing bigger with every passing year.
However, in India, this means the “ILG LCL” Short for League of Legends Champions League brought by Indian League Gaming (a leading Indian eSPORTS company) & supported by Spectranet (one of the leading ISPs), this was no ordinary knockout tournament that was held over a weekend. It was instead, a full-fledged league with a unique structure, grouping teams of similar skill level and providing them a platform to compete on a regular basis. Not only was a first of its kind initiative in terms of its impressive format, it was also the first time all matches were streamed on ILG Twitch Channel and uploaded on YouTube, with even statistics of champions and players recorded!
ILG LCL started on 20th Dec 2014 & Concluded this Sunday 18th Jan 2015.
This was complemented by an impressive Prize Pool of around Riot Points (Game Currency) worth around Rs 18000, and one of the rarest skins in the game for 5 members of the team to win the Pro League, estimated to be worth 219 Euro each (Rs. 15k each) total worth of the Skins around Rs. 78k, making the total prize pool worth around Rs 1 lacs.
A thoroughly professional and well organized league that the gaming community has never seen before, the inaugural season had a whopping 32 teams hailing from India, Bangladesh and even Sri Lanka.
On the basis of two Qualifiers, these 32 teams were sorted into three categories – Amateur, Semi-Pro and Pro. Starting off with the Qualifier 1 that lasted for a week, these 32 teams were put into 8 groups to battle out in a series of matches, sorting them into the Bottom 16 (who qualified for the Amateur League) and Top 16 (who progressed to the next Qualifier).
The second qualifier saw the Top 16 teams further sorted into the Top 8 (Pro Teams), and the next 8 (Semi-Pro Teams). This qualifier went on for over 5 days and was filled with a lot of excitement and happiness and an equal amount of despair and sadness as teams rose and fell from the bottom and top 8.
It is after this qualifier that the tournament’s unique structure unfolded, with the bottom 16 from the first qualifier taking part in the Amateur league, held in the knockout format – the only part of the LCL that resembles tournaments held previously for the Indian and Bangladeshi scene. Lasting for 3 days, this League gave budding teams and players an opportunity to hone their skills and win prizes for the first time! “Pew Pew Lasers” emerged victorious in the Finals against “Furious Five”, while “RuneFaust Gaming” clinched 3rd place in a 3rd place play off.
The LCL then proceeded to the Semi-Pro League. This followed the new league format where each team plays against the other once. Another week of intense matches followed, with Derailed Gaming clinching victory, Clueless Gaming following up in 2nd place and Team TTFU coming in 3rd.
And finally, it was time for the Pro League, with 8 of the best teams facing off. Two weekends and a single weekday of matches saw plenty of action, drama, and even comedy. Oblique Gaming, widely recognised as India’s best in League of Legends and Dota 2, emerged victors with a clean sweep, being crowned the winners of the Pro League and consequently, the LCL. Exodus Gaming gave Oblique Gaming a run for their money, finishing 2nd after their only loss in the LCL against the victorious Oblique Gaming, while “Misfits” managed to fit into 3rd place.
Indian League Gaming seemed to have left no stone unturned in this ambitious venture, making sure it’s a benchmark for other eSports events in the sub-continent, and receiving tremendous appreciation and approval from the League of Legends community.
Sanjeev Purushothaman, captain of Exodus Gaming (2nd Placed Pro Team) had this to say : “Huge kudos to Indian League Gaming for recognizing this is India – taking the time to individually ask every team for available timings and fixing matches accordingly, providing stand-ins when players still couldn’t make it, and be accommodative in every way possible. This is definitely the first time in India tournament organizers have went to such an extent, so as to ensure every participating team had an amazing experience, and had absolutely nothing to complain about at the end of the day. Proud of you guys, and can’t wait for the next season.”
Aly Hajiani, member of Pro League winners Oblique Gaming was also vocal in his appreciation for ILG, stating “This was probably the best organized and most successful tournament the Indian scene has had after a really long time. You guys were spot on with everything”. With appreciation echoing from various Pro, Semi-Pro and Amateur teams, the success of the well planned and executed LCL is unquestionable. All in all, the LCL has been nothing short of revolutionary, and was a new and wonderful experience for the League of Legends community, leaving everyone very happy. It breathes fresh life into a once-dry competitive scene and will continue to mesmerize audiences with everything it offers in the months to come. Pulling off a venture of such magnitude with such success is no small feat, and gives us a glimpse of what Indian League Gaming has in store for the eSports scene in the sub-continent.
Go ahead and check out ILG LCL Season-I Qualifiers, Amateur, Semi-Pro, & Pro League gameplays on ILG YouTube Channel
