Riot says sorry for not celebrating China’s first League of Legends World Championship title

More than 200 million in China tuned in for the finals but they were disappointed with Riot's response

League of Legends

Josh Ye

Published: 6:45pm, 8 Nov, 2018

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This article originally appeared on ABACUS

This weekend, more than 200 million people in China watched as Invictus Gaming became the first Chinese team to win the League of Legends Worlds Championship.

League of Legends, the esports giant

That’s twice as many people as those who tuned in for the Super Bowl.

Countless watch parties were held across China. (Picture: CCTV/WeChat)

But unlike the 700,000 Eagles fans that almost tore down the City of Brotherly Love with an insane parade, fans of Invictus Gaming felt like they didn’t get the victory celebration that they deserved.

So fans have been lashing out online, accusing Riot Games, which owns League of Legends, of neglecting IG’s historic win… and instead choosing to focus on the promotion of its new fictional holographic K-Pop girl group K/DA.

Riot issued an official apology, regretting the lack of coverage of IG as well as promising more rewards for gamers.

Fans watched the Finals together at tens of thousands of internet cafes. (Picture: CCTV/WeChat)

Rewards? Look, how esports fans party is a bit different -- the “parade” that fans want is on the internet.

More specifically, what fans were demanding is to turn November into a month of celebration, when special IG-themed skins will be given out for free (or at a discount) to those on Chinese servers.

In other words, Chinese gamers want to dress up their heroes with IG-themed outfits in the game. OK, it’s not an actual parade, but you get the idea.

Among those who complained about Riot’s lack of celebration included IG’s owner Wang Sicong. Known for his lavish lifestyle and playboy persona, the 30-year-old businessman was giving out free money to Chinese netizens on Weibo.

Wang Sicong: China’s “richest son” is also a leading esports investor

Wang promised to shell out more than half a million dollars to a few hundred random netizens who shared his post… which led to 20 million shares.

Speaking of Wang, he’s also turned into a meme, after a shot of him eating a hot dog -- or rather, apparently trying to stuff an entire hot dog into his mouth -- went viral.

Let’s be real, these are hilarious. (Picture: WeChat)

Invictus Gaming wins coveted League of Legends Worlds title for China

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