The online game League of Legends from Riot Games has between 100 – 120 million players. This online game is also one of the World’s most popular e-sports. Over 100 million people watch the annual League of Legends World Championship, and this year The League of Legends World Championship is coming to Iceland. The tournament starts on October 5th and will be held in the Laugardalshöll sports arena in Reykjavik. The grand finale is on the 6th. of November. The League of Legends Championship will bring 22 teams with about 150 players and is the biggest sports event hosted in Iceland. Ever.
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League of Legends in Iceland for the second time
Iceland has hosted a major League of Legends competition before. Last May, the so-called Mid-Season Invitational was held in Laugardalshöll sports hall, and 23.7 million people watched the final match online. There was no live audience, and no Covid-19 cases came up. No live audience will be at the World Championship event this time. Ólafur Hrafn Steinarsson is the chairperson of the Icelandic e-Sports Association and knows everything that there is to know about this huge event.
Video: Grand finale of the Mid-Season Invitational in May 2021
Hey Ólafur, thank you for taking the time for this interview. Can you please give my readers a little background on yourself and the Icelandic e-Sports Association?
I started working in the gaming industry in 2011 as a Game Master at CCP Games, before moving over to organize and produce the tournaments and broadcasts for EVE Online. From there I went over to Riot Games in Dublin where I led to support for the collegiate esports ecosystem in Europe and later managed development and operations of the tournament platform Battlegrounds that was deployed and used worldwide.
Reinvigorating the Iceland e-sports scene
When I moved back to Iceland in 2018, I saw the local esports ecosystem in decline. I felt that made no sense. We started the Icelandic esports association and focused on building a supportive grassroots ecosystem where kids of all ages could find support and coaching around their esports aspirations. Three years later, we have 30 member clubs that are training around 1500 kids multiple times a week across different titles and 2300 regular competitors in our leagues and competitions that span multiple games and genres.
We have also built the local viewership significantly through strategic partnerships with local media companies. We now see tens of thousands of Icelanders enjoying Icelandic esports and gaming content every week.
Can you explain what League of Legends is and why it is so popular?
League of Legends is one of the biggest games ever made. The game pioneered the “free to play” business model in gaming. Leauge of Legends led the growth in esports in the Western world. League of Legends came out at the right time and quickly swept the gaming world by storm, peaking at over 100 million monthly players, a new record at the time. World of Warcraft had held the previous record at around 13-14 million players. The pure mass of people that got swept up by League of Legends and introduced to the colorful and diverse world of Runeterra made this into the cultural phenomenon we still observe today.
Since then, other titles have done similar things, most notably Fortnite. With that game being available across multiple devices, they have seen their player numbers peak at around 350 million people worldwide.
Then, of course, we can never forget the basic facts. The game is entertaining both to play and watch, which is the core reason why it is so popular!
What is the significance of the World Championship being held here in Iceland?
Being the small country it is, Iceland means that this World Championship is very significant for Iceland and Icelandic society. It is an excellent source of revenue for the Icelandic economy. The championship is a great introduction to Iceland for people all over the world that might not know we exist. It signals to everyone else in the world that not only is it possible to do a large esports event in Iceland. Our country is one of the best places in the world to do so. This also leaves a lot of expertise within the local event and production industry. This expertise will help as we continue to build bigger and bigger events locally.
Validation for the Icelandic esports community
This is also a fantastic validation for esports in Iceland and the volunteers and community members that have participated in building the Icelandic esports ecosystem over the past few years. The Championship allows us to network better with the international community. Finally, it puts wind in our sails for the coming years of building esports in Iceland.
Do you have a favorite team?
My favorite team has to be Counter Logic Gaming. I started following them when they were just six friends from Canada, competing at the World Cyber Games in South Korea in 2008 and to it being a global esports organization fielding teams across multiple titles.
I am a huge fan of how the pioneers behind these teams like CLG took their passion and built their life around it. They are the inspiration for so many others, and for that, I am thankful.
What advice do you want to give to the many players visiting Iceland for the League of Legends World Championship? What sights or activities do you recommend for them?
The best advice I can give is to enjoy nature and use it as a contrast to your practice regimen. Take the opportunity to context switch after an intense scrim session. Go out for a walk, take a deep breath, and reset yourself mentally. Competing at Worlds is a stressful affair, and players can’t afford to be distracted, so use nature to sharpen your focus and then make sure to take time for all the sightseeing and traveling once the tournament is done.
What advice would you give to those visiting Iceland for the first time?
Explore the entire country and don’t get stuck in Reykjavík. The city is fantastic and is sure to provide most people with a fun-filled schedule for multiple days. I always recommend planning a way to explore more of Iceland. There are genuine natural wonders to be explored all over Iceland. The best part is, it’s not just about the destination. The journey is a fun one as well.
