The 2015 League of Legends Championship Finals kicked off Saturday with the underdog KOO Tigers matched up against the famed SKTelecom.

  League of Legends, the online MMO-game retaining approximately 27 million concurrent players as of last year, had their fifth championship finals entailing a series of intense matches. Its most recognizable form of play involves two teams fighting each other, sieging turrets, and taking objectives to capture the opposing team’s nexus or home base. The championship originally staged the top sixteen League of Legends teams, from across the world, that entered the tournament for the chance to win a million dollars.

  SKTelecom pulled out the win against KOO Tigers after four games with a score of 3-1. Coming into the match, the two teams were expected to produce a close games. Eric Lu (10) said, “KOO Tigers, in most of the games, had early leads, but SKTelecom is known for its trademark comeback wins”. The level at which SKTelecom, “performed in the end of each game was the main difference displayed between the two teams”.

  Even though the KOO Tigers lost, their overall performance throughout was unanticipated. William Fu (11) said, “KOO did really well since it’s their first year as a team, already making it to the finals of the world championships.” KOO Tigers were outmatched by SKT who has been playing professionally for three years; but the KOO Tigers held their own against the clear favorites of the tournament, which demonstrates their potential to be a top contender next year as well.

  With the addition of organized electronic sports and live broadcasted online tournaments with large amounts of prize money from the developer of the game, Riot Games, has raised the stakes. As Ben Nguyen (10) says, “Every year, [League of Legends] World Championship has progressively gotten better.” The next League of Legends championship will keep fans coming and elevate the professional gaming scene.