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League of Legends tournament cheaters fined $30,000
With $2,000,000 US in prize money up for grabs in the League of Legends World Championship tournament, last week's accusations of cheating by several teams threw the e-sports scene into chaos. Several teams were accused of looking across the room at the enemy team's minimap, which was on display for audience members. Riot Games initially announced that nobody had looked at the minimap, but as viewers at home dug through the recorded streams, the evidence of cheating mounted. This week Riot carried out a full review of each match that was called into question, investigating both the incidents of players peeking at the opposing team's map and the impact on the match. One team was cleared of all misconduct, three were issued warnings for unsportsmanlike conduct, and Korean team Azubu Frost was fined 20% of its winnings. The $30,000 fine will be donated to Riot Games' charity programme in Korea.
League of Legends cheating controversy puts $2,000,000 on the line
The competitive e-sports scene has exploded in the past two years, with top MOBA teams competing for prizes of up to an incredible $1,000,000 US from a single tournament. This weekend, MOBA fans tuned in to the League of Legends World Championship tournament, streamed live from Los Angeles. The crowd attending the event got front row seats to see the game's best teams battle it out over a total of $2,000,000 US in prize money, and with so much money on the line, it's no surprise that accusations of cheating have already surfaced. A huge screen showed the match in action to event attendees, with two smaller screens showing each team's in-game map with the positions of their players. Competitors were told to face forward at all times, but controversy erupted last night when livestream viewers at home noticed players turning their heads and looking up away from the screen. It was argued that those players were cheating by looking at the opposing team's minimap to check the positions of their players. Riot Games e-sports coordinator RiotTiza was lead referee for the tournament and released the following statement: "We keep a constant watch on all the players on stage at all times. We have cameras as well as live people walking onto stage to keep tabs in everything. All players are told that they need to remain sitting, facing forward, and with headphones on at all times, including during pauses. I can personally confirm that no WE player looked at the minimap at any point during the match."
The Summoner's Guidebook: Will Korea dominate League of Legends, too?
When I first started following the League of Legends pro scene, I was introduced to top teams like Team Solo Mid and SK Gaming. As I watched matches and player interviews, the first thing that came to my mind was this: If Korea fielded a LoL pro team, it would be incredibly scary. When Riot Games added support for Korean League of Legends and OnGameNet began running regular tournaments, I had to check it out. Sure enough, big pro-gaming teams like StarTale and MiG started fielding pro League teams, and most of the things I suspected were true. Korean teams have amazing coordination and incredible mechanics compared to their western counterparts. This was put to the test last weekend during Major League Gaming's LoL Summer Arena, where Korean qualifying team Azubu Blaze utterly destroyed the other teams, losing only once to Curse Gaming. Most of the matches weren't even close. What's the secret to Azubu Blaze's dominance? Can it be reproduced in the West, or is League of Legends going to end up like StarCraft -- dominated by the Korean scene?
The Summoner's Guidebook: I suck at last-hitting
Given all of the fansites dedicated to League of Legends, you might wonder what kind of content I have planned for The Summoner's Guidebook to set it apart. Fortunately, there are quite a few little niches to cover. Our focus with the column will be on the beginner to intermediate players and improving key elements of lower-level play. While I do recognize and admire the pro League scene, websites like SoloMid.net and Curse Gaming's new LoLPro.com have tons of advice to push your gameplay from the expert levels of play to the master and professional levels. This week, we're going to start with the basics of laning well. While there are dozens of guides on how to do this, I want to cover them in the Guidebook because their importance can't be stressed enough. Laning fundamentals are something you should practice in every game, even as you learn new strategies or tactics. If you can commit yourself to constantly improving in this area, you'll see dramatic leaps in your ability to play. These tricks are the hardest skills in the game to improve on, so getting better at them gives you a significant edge over most opponents. If you want to take the first steps to improve your LoL game, you'll have to read on.
The Summoner's Guidebook: A community guide to League of Legends
Greetings, summoners, and welcome to the first installment of the Summoner's Guidebook! For a new player, the Guidebook is a one-stop-shop to gaining familiarity with the various elements of League of Legends. For the more advanced players, we'll also be covering ways to improve on weak areas of your play and how to deal with the toughest of matchups. I was a new player once, and I remember being extremely daunted by the number of things I needed to learn to be competitive in LoL. Although the journey from newbie to expert was long and difficult, I learned a lot about common mistakes and how to reduce them. If you're looking to step up your game or if you're just getting into the League, the Summoner's Guidebook is the place for you to learn without being treated like you're a noob. This week, we're going to cover the community resources available to you. There are a lot of websites dedicated to League of Legends, and it would be foolish to assume that this column is the only place to get advice on the game. If there's something I haven't covered yet or there's a topic I'm unfamiliar with, you can be sure that one of these places will have the info you're looking for. This article can't possibly cover all the League fansites on the internet (there are probably hundreds), but I can focus on the ones with the best information.
