The game’s eSports success, particularly across Asia, has led to League of Legends being included as a medal event in the upcoming 2022 Asian Games (which, due to COVID-19, will now take place in September and October 2023).
The 2022 edition of the tournament took place in Mexico and the United States, and the prize money awarded to the winners of the final, DRX (former known as DagonX) from South Korea, reached almost 490 thousand U.S. dollars in 2018, before falling to 2.23 million U.S. The prize pool for the League of Legends World Championships peaked at 6.45 million U.S. Each year, hundreds of professional tournaments take place around the world and culminate in one major event called the World Championships. Because of its multiplayer format, League of Legends easily transitioned from at-home entertainment to international sport. Despite being over a decade old, League of Legends consistently ranks as one of the most popular video games in the United States. League of Legends (also known as League or stylized as LoL) was first released in 2009 by Riot Games and remained popular ever since, not only as a form of entertainment, but also as a money-making device owing to its presence in eSports.
