League of LegendsWorld Championships 2016 Primer
Part 1: What is League of Legends?
Prepared by: Luc Ryu
This Primer is meant for individuals who are interested in learning about the basics of
League of Legends – both as a game, and as a spectacle.
The 2016 World Championships are just around the corner (October 29, 2016), and
awareness of the game is at an annual high. With that, comes a large influx of individuals
who are interested in watching, but have no idea what the game is, how its basic gameplay
functions, or even how to properly watch the game.
This Primer will be comprised of multiple sections, each designed to explain a unique
component of League of Legends – be it its history and growth, its basic gameplay, or the
head-to-head matchup at the 2016 World Championships.
Altogether, the goal of this Primer is to help beginners learn the basics of League of
Legends, such that they can enjoy the experience of watching the 2016 World
Championships.
The biggest barrier to entry for any video game is the steep learning curve involved in
learning the fundamentals. It is my hope that this Primer will help to break down those
barriers, and help introduce the fascinating world of competitive League of Legends to new
viewers.
About This Primer
What is League of Legends?
Well, yes.
It is just a video game, I guess.
But maybe it’ll surprise you to
know just how big and influential a
video game can get.
A “MOBA” is any game where a player controls a character (“Champion”), and the objective
is to destroy the opposing team’s main structure (“Nexus”) with the assistance of periodically
spawned computer-controlled units (“Minions”).
What is League of Legends?
LoL has approximately 100M monthly active users (“MAU”) [1]
League of Legends (“LoL”), is a video game released on October 27, 2009 by Riot Games
LoL is categorized within the multiplayer online battle arena (“MOBA”) genre of video games
[1] http://www.riftherald.com/2016/9/13/12865314/monthly-lol-players-2016-active-worldwide
313M 409M150M
Exhibit 1: MAU Comparison
0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
140.0
10/27/2009 7/26/2011 11/1/2011 10/1/2012 1/28/2014 9/13/2016 12/31/2017
Mil
lio
ns o
f M
on
thly
Ac
tive
Use
rs
Riot Games and LoL Through Time
Exhibit 2: Riot Games Timeline
Growth to end of 2017
approximately 130M MAU
based on projected figures.
You may have heard of
Tencent! They recently
purchased the Clash of
Clans series, and are the
developers of instant
messaging application
WeChat.
Tencent Holdings acquires
93.0% in Riot Games for
approximately $400M.
Tencent Holdings
purchases the remaining
7.0% in Riot Games.
5Million concurrent
players
1Million concurrent
players
8Million concurrent
players
World Championships Through Time
Location: Jönköping, Sweden
Prize Pool: USD $99,500
Peak CCV1: 210,000+
2011 was the inaugural year
for the World Championships,
and the only year a Western
team has ever won!
1st
2nd 3rd
1 CCV: Concurrent viewers – unique viewers watching simultaneously at any point during the broadcast of the final series.
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Location: Los Angeles, USA
Prize Pool: USD $2,000,000
Peak CCV1: 1,100,000+
World Championships Through Time
1st
2nd
1 CCV: Concurrent viewers – unique viewers watching simultaneously at any point during the broadcast of the final series.
3rd /4th
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Location: Los Angeles, USA
Prize Pool: USD $2,050,000
Peak CCV1: 8,500,000+
World Championships Through Time
1st
2nd
1 CCV: Concurrent viewers – unique viewers watching simultaneously at any point during the broadcast of the final series.
3rd /4th
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
With 32,000,000+ views,
the 2013 World
Championships were
more watched than the
2013 NBA Finals.
World Championships Through Time
1 CCV: Concurrent viewers – unique viewers watching simultaneously at any point during the broadcast of the final series.
Location: Busan, South Korea
Prize Pool: USD $2,130,000
Peak CCV1: 11,200,000+
1st
2nd 3 /4thrd
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
World Championships Through Time
1 CCV: Concurrent viewers – unique viewers watching simultaneously at any point during the broadcast of the final series.
Location: Berlin, Germany
Prize Pool: USD $2,130,000
Peak CCV1: 14,000,000+
1st
2nd 3 /4thrd
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
World Championships Through Time
1 CCV: Concurrent viewers – unique viewers watching simultaneously at any point during the broadcast of the final series.
Location: Los Angeles, USA
Prize Pool: USD $4,145,000
Peak CCV1: ???
1st
2nd 3 /4thrd
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
? ?
2011 World Championships
CCV: 800,000
2015 World Championships
CCV: 14,00,000
2016 World Championships
CCV: ???
http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/101916/cbs-commissions-candy-crush-game-show-atvi-
cbs-lgf.aspx
http://www.riftherald.com/2016/9/13/12865314/monthly-lol-players-2016-active-worldwide
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/pinterest-monthly-users-2016-150-million/176314/
http://www.riotgames.com/articles/20140910/508/115-million-playing-lol-each-month
http://forums.euw.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=337971
http://www.riotgames.com/articles/20121015/138/league-legends-growth-spells-bad-news-teemo
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2014/01/27/riots-
league-of-legends-reveals-astonishing-27-million-daily-players-67-million-
monthly/&refURL=&referrer=#199b15e63511
http://venturebeat.com/2008/07/10/riot-games-raises-round-for-quick-hit-3-d-online-games/
http://www.tencent.com/en-us/content/ir/news/2011/attachments/20110519b.pdf
http://www.wsj.com/articles/tencent-acquires-full-control-of-u-s-based-riot-games-1450342769
Sources Used
League of LegendsWorld Championships 2016 Primer
Part 1: What is League of Legends?
Prepared by: Luc Ryu