Watch 10,000 League Of Legends Games In 30 Seconds

The New York Times has an excellent article on how League of Legends has become the biggest competitive game in the world, and why thousands of people are watching the World Championship this month. Along with that is a feature showing the positions of 100,000 players over the course of 10,000 games.

Here’s a version of the video that shows what each player does

Head over to the article to see the full visualisation of 10,000 games along with more information about the game, like the fact that the Worlds tournament actually loses money for Riot, the developer of League.

Yet despite ticket prices of $US15 to $US50 for seats at league events, the league itself is a money loser. The tournaments function as marketing to bring in new players and to inspire loyalty in regulars, says Marc Merrill, a Riot Games co-founder and the company president. The goal is to inspire enthusiasts, doing for LoL what LeBron James and other stars do for basketball.

There’s also a video about the tournament, including a short interview with Cloud9, one of the teams competing in the quarterfinals.

The League of Legends Worlds tournament is happening this month, with the semifinals happening tomorrow and Sunday. The grand final is on October 19, in Seoul, South Korea.