What if it was never about big arenas? @TheUKEL finals reminded me of what esports could be if it had the courage to embody what really matters. It's the community. It's the connection. It's being able to hear both sets of fans, @Inari_eSports and @ABSOLVEDGG, cheering for every kill and being silenced when their own nexus explodes at the end of the game. What a series. The full 5 games. As close and contested as ever I've seen. A genuine both teams could have won it affair, accompanied by a production that were exceptional on and off camera. If you were involved, in any way. Whether as a fan or staff, thank you. Last year put a bit of a strain on my relationship with esports, but what I saw on Saturday made an old man believe again. It 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑡 like a final, a proper cup final. Not an emblem to arrogance, stupidity or vanity. But esports as it was and how it could be; community and connection and closeness to those that share our passion. We don't know what next year looks like. But if it manages to capture just a fraction, of the intensity of the last moments of game five, with @UnfazedCasts delivering an end call any caster would be proud of, the rapturous cheering of the fans, the we'll be alright. We'll be alright.

wdym people actually cared about these? i thought the reward for watching worlds was the enjoyment you get from watching worlds

teaching continues to be the most misunderstood profession by seemingly everyone who hasn't worked in a school.

i swear @XTeddyWestside doesn't miss

it's a very good sign that someone can be openly critical of these sorts of bodies and the result is inclusion in the conversation rather than blacklisting.

i am begging everyone to actually read the interview that this whole "riot think tier 2 is doing well" thing came from. it was about 2 sentences from an interview that wasn't about tier 2 at all. the actual quote was that were "great developments" in the tier 2 system specifically refering to WSCI; a tournament the likes of which has never existed in tier 2. people are acting like someone from riot said "the erls are in a really good spot and everyone is making money and the viewership figures are trending positively". i promise you riot know that tier 2 in Europe isn't working.

i'm assuming that there are some additional safeguards in place, that obviously won't be discussed publicly, otherwise this is still absolutely exploitable.

inevitable consequence of the over-saturation of the lol esports calender with international events. the domestic leagues become devalued and seen as a glorified qualifying tournaments for international competitions that will inevitably be won by an LCK/LPL team.

more people need to play spec ops the line

Very excellent opportunity for UK players that want to get a foot in the door of competitive play

reminder 👇👇

describes using AI in pretty much exactly the same manner as CGI. this is a non-issue

anyone in london got a spare sofa for saturday night?

Casters too. There's a level of self-indulgence that I think holds back a cast that I've seen way too often. Be creative and have fun with it, but as soon as your focus is distracted from being a conduit for the emotion and story of the game then the cast has lost all value

the scene of faker walking whilst unemphasised imagery representing the intervening world champions was a bit weird. was he not fighting during those years too? was he just a passive observer? or was he clinging tooth and nail to greatness, refusing to acquiese until he was beaten into the dirt, only to get up and be pushed down again?

it's really not good to reduce winning a world championship down to a 7 second fight on a rooftop. it trivialises the accomplishment. would a spiritual successor to RISE have been so bad? an exaltation of z/dofgk that depicted the journey back to the top as a true collective endeavour.

blisteringly astro-correct take. piano, violin, an absolutely haunting vocal performance. deceptively simple lyrics that beautifully capture regret and sorrow, the title itself a more melancholic version of the worst question in the world.

Give me something stripped back, confident, that doesn't need to flood the listeners' ears with constant changes in instruments and vocalists. A video that attempts to engage with metaphor in a meaningful way. A whistle stop tour of *everything* is ultimately unsatisfying.

very good change that's frustrating but seems ultimately necessary. the integrity of the game is the priority in all instances. yes we will lose good content and useful tools, riot themselves acknowledge this, but that is better than the game becoming unplayable. a .ROFL contains every action that takes place in a game. you can build a cheat mimicing real players off of that data that is incredibly difficult to detect. realistic variance in reaction time, spell placement, movement etc. and if you've got people running around with those on then your game effectively dies; or worse becomes single player

If you are a young player (16/17/18) who is good enough to play in the ERLs/Tier 2, and maybe has a shot at Tier 1 with time. You should first invest in yourself, your education, work or an apprenticeship, so you have the skills/money to sustain yourself, and you can then go and chase your dream with a safety net and not have the fear of not making it and being jobless with no skills/education. I can't imagine it's good for the mental of a young player to play for 100 EUR a month because they believe they can make it to tier 1 but they know in the back of their mind if they don't they've fucked up their life. The only place you will likely find a 'living wage' as a young player is LFL and PRM, and mostly from LEC Academy teams, and the only reason they are doing this is to contract lock you so if you are good enough for Tier 1 they can get you at a 'cheaper' rate. People are completely misunderstanding the point of Lilian's tweet. Saying "Don't expect a salary" is not the same as saying "Work for free". The point is be realistic with yourself. This is not some thriving scene where everyone can get paid. Riot likes to pretend we're semi-professional but the money is not there. Your salary should be a representation of the value you bring to the org and the revenue the org can generate as a result of you being on the roster. The mentality that players/staff should have a salary of X thousand a month is exactly what leads to so many orgs overspending, disbanding, and players being unpaid. A general question for all, would you rather everyone be realistic about the state Tier2/ERLs are in and we pay people within the budget of what is avaliable from revenue? or We continue the cycle of players, staff etc not getting paid because of unrealistic salaries?