League of Legends fans will soon have the opportunity to watch the top players from around the world compete for the title of World Champion. The month long event will be broadcast live on Astro Supersport in HD and will include replays and exclusive content from 1 – 31 October.
The League of Legends 2015 World Championship will take place in Europe, with the group stage beginning in Paris, before moving on to the quarter finals in London, the semi-finals in Brussels, and the finals in Berlin. The best teams from around the world will converge on these cities and try to claim their share of the $2 million (about RM8.5 million) prize pool.
It looks like Astro is building on the success it saw with the live broad of the The International Dota 2 Championships held back in July. The broadcast saw almost 1.5 million views over the course of the tournament, which is not an insignificant number for an eSports event. It was earlier reported that League of Legends players were also asking for their game to be given the same treatment, and Astro has responded by partnering with Garena to broadcast the month long World Championship.
Lee Choong Khay, Astro’s Head of Sports Business said, “Following the success of our previous eSports offerings, we are proud to bring yet another world class eSports tournament, the League of Legends 2015 World Championship to all Malaysians. As eSports have developed from a niche interest of dedicated gamers to a cultural phenomenon we believe this offering will be well received as League of Legends is currently the most popular eSports game across the globe with 67 million players and during 2014’s final, it drew 27 million viewers.”
It is a good time to be an eSports fan in Malaysia, and with any luck games from other genres will also receive the same kind of attention that the MOBA scene has been enjoying. Counter Strike: Global Offensive is probably the next game to warrant a live broadcast, although the title admittedly does not have its own giant annual tournament to bring in the fans.
League of Legends fans will be able to tune in to the 2015 World Championship on Astro Supersport Plus Channel 808 or Astro on the Go when the event begins at 10pm on 1 October 2015. Astro has also helpfully provided us with a full schedule for the event, which will help fans plan their viewing parties.
[Update] Astro has sent us an updated schedule for the World Championship.
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