Enthusiastic fans stream into Madison Square Garden. The atmosphere inside the building is thick with anticipation. Strobe lights and Jumbotron clips illuminate eager spectators\u2019 faces. Tonight\u2019s event has all the trappings of a Knicks game, but the garden isn\u2019t showcasing an athletic competition. Instead, it\u2019s hosting the League of Legends North American Summer Finals, a live video-game competition attended by thousands of enthusiastic fans.<\/p>\n
Aside from a brief middle-school infatuation with \u201cStarcraft,\u201d a spiritual predecessor to \u201cLeague of Legends\u201d that is best understood as the Lucy<\/a> to the newer game\u2019s fully-articulated homo sapiens, <\/em>I am utterly unfamiliar with the world of competitive video gaming. An acquaintance helped organize the event and offered us tickets, and her description was intriguing enough to get us to show up.<\/p>\n Before arriving, a cursory Google search revealed that competitive gaming is a popular and growing subculture, complete with its own celebrities, customs, and even a spiritual homeland (South Korea). As we enter the stadium, a quick glance at our surroundings reveals that it has also found an impressively large and boisterous audience for its live events.<\/p>\n The \u201cLeague of Legends\u201d championship pits two teams of five gamers against each other in a digital Battle Royale. Spectators observe the clash between the contestants\u2019 computer-controlled avatars, all of whom boast special abilities and seem vaguely inspired by European or Asian mythology, on several massive screens. The gamers\u2019 characters fight over a symmetrical map dotted with defensive outposts, exotic terrain features, and monsters that can be dispatched for bonuses.<\/p>\n The ultimate objective is to destroy the opposing team\u2019s base, which is where contestants\u2019 heroes begin the match and where they are (eventually) reincarnated after dying. To the uninitiated, watching the competition on-screen is a bit like hovering over an impossibly busy Looney Tunes brawl.<\/p>\n The experience of walking into a live video-game tournament is almost indistinguishable from going to a National Basketball Association game. Vendors\u2014including a \u201cLeague of Legends\u201d-themed tattoo parlor\u2014line the halls leading up to our section. The ushers, long inured to the full range of human spectacle, calmly and competently direct guests to their appointed seats. The ubiquity of hot dogs, popcorn, and overpriced beer suggests the \u201cLeague of Legends\u201d culinary experience isn\u2019t appreciably different from your average Knicks game.<\/p>\n The demographics of the event are about what you\u2019d expect. Female spectators, some sporting elaborate costumes, are in attendance, but the line to the men\u2019s room spills out onto the concourse while the ladies\u2019 room is less heavily trafficked. Seven of the ten competitors on stage are of Asian descent. Before the match kicks off, an enthusiastic MC interviews this season\u2019s North American League of Legends MVP with the help of a Korean translator.<\/p>\n By the time the match begins, the gamers are hunched over a row of computer terminals on a stage at one end of the stadium. The terminals are illuminated by team colors and feature front-facing displays that alternate between the competitors\u2019 screen names\u2014\u201cLustboy\u201d was a particular favorite\u2014and pictures of their chosen avatars.<\/p>\nDuck Inside the Competition Hall<\/h2>\n
The Hot Spot for Young, Asian Men<\/h2>\n