New kings of e-sports

SK Telecom’s T1 K team emerged as winners of last year’s League of Legends World Championships at Staples Center in Los Angeles. / Courtesy of Riot Games Korea

SK Telecom squad talks about League of Legends dominance

By Baek Byung-yeul

The combat strategy series “League of Legends” (LOL) has become the most popular title in the growing world market for online games, which are played via servers instead of consoles.

The game is also the new life of Korea’s “e-sports” professional gaming competitions, which had previously relied on the aging StarCraft franchise launched in the late 1990s.

LOL, a product of U.S.-based Riot Games, requires players to find and destroy an opponent’s base, before the opponent does the same to them. The game supports individual and team players of up to five-on-five competitions.

LOL has been the most played game at Korea’s “PC bangs” or computer gaming lounges for 85 straight weeks since its official launch in December 2011, according to industry data. Many LOL tournaments, which offer large cash prizes, are held around the world.

In Korea, cable television channel OGN, which specializes in broadcasting video game tournaments, has been holding the country’s largest LOL tournament, OGN The Champions, since 2012. Large corporations such as SK Telecom, Samsung Electronics, KT and CJ are fielding LOL teams.

While The Champions has featured top foreign players, Koreans have been dominating the competition so far.

SK Telecom’s T1 K team ― comprised of Jung Eon-yeong, Bae Seong-ung, Lee Sang-hyeok, Chae Gwang-jin and Kwon Ji-min ― has been the squad to beat since winning last year’s summer league. TI K then won the LOL World Championship, organized by Riot Games, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in October, earning the bragging rights as the world’s best LOL team.

T1 K members hold up their trophy after their 3-0 win against China’s Royal Club at the world championship final in October last year. / Courtesy of SK Telecom T1

The following is an excerpt of The Korea Times’ interview with the five T1 K members, their team manager Choi Byoung-hoon and coach Kim Jeong-gyun.

Korea Times:

Compared to other video games in e-sports, what is the strength of LOL?

Choi Byoung-hoon (team manager):

It is simply because there are so many players enjoying this game, and that makes the game more competitive than others. The game was well made and ahead of the curve in terms of innovation in style of game play, speed and graphics.

What made you decide to become an e-sports player?

Bae Seong-ung:

I didn’t mean to become a pro gamer at first. I virtually played LOL only because a previous game I enjoyed had been discontinued. I was offered to take a test from SK Telecom while I was enjoying this game by myself. I didn’t even expect that I would pass the test at first.

Statistics show that e-sports players have quite short careers on average. For example, pioneering LOL players such as Kim Dae-woong, Brandon DiMarco and Andy Dinh, who shined in the game since its launch in 2009 in the U.S. are now all retired. Do you feel any sense of anxiety about this? Do you think the career of a pro gamer is too short?

Jung Eon-yeong:

I have been playing LOL since it was first released, too. Considering that there are many StarCraft pro gamers in their 30s, I guess it depends on what you think about it. We can greatly extend our career through proper self-care.

I think surviving in LOL might be the same as in any other area of life. There is always cutthroat competition to become the best at anything.

Tell us how you manage your finances. Do you live on your salary from sponsoring company SK Telecom? Or do you just live with your prize money?

Lee Sang-hyeok:

We do receive an annual salary from SK Telecom and we share the prize money we earn from competitions. We are not allowed to tell you exactly how much we are earning, but let’s just put it that our salary is higher than average.

What’s the role of managers? Do Choi and Kim only give strategic advice to players during a match or counsel stressed-out players?

Choi Byoung-hoon:

I take charge of everything, ranging from boosting team morale to setting up the strategy. Kim mainly helps the players set up tactics and strategy in the competition.

Tell us how you prepare for the competition. Does living together in the same house provided by your sponsor help polish your skills and team spirit? Please comment on the pros and cons of living and practicing together.

Kim Jeong-gyun (coach):

The practice sessions are comprised of individual and team sessions, though most of the training time is spent on team practice. In my opinion, the merits of living together in the camp outweighs the demerits because we all think that living together is a step forward to winning a match.

What is your outlook on the new fourth season? What is the biggest change from the previous season?

Kwon Ji-min:

I don’t feel any difference compared to season 3, which can indicate that the game is becoming stable. Of course, there are some minor changes, but I’ve found no big differences so far.

We know you’re probably sick of being asked this question, but what do you think of the future of e-sports?

Kim Jeong-gyun:

I was also asked this question 10 years ago, but e-sports has over a decade of history. I am very sure that e-sports will add many different kinds of related jobs with more games other than LOL. I’m very sure that e-sports will become one of the most beloved cultural phenomena.