League of Legends esports has come a long way over the last seven years. Along with better competition and bigger crowds, the venues that host League esports have come a long way, from the cramped setting of the first World Championship to the spacious, sold-out stadiums that host big tournaments today.
But this weekend, things could be taken to another level when the LPL Final is played at the Nanjing YOG Sport Park Gymnasium in Nanjing, China. According to a post on Chinese forum Baidu Tieba, the LPL crew is constructing a replica of the Summoner’s Rift for the final. And as chronicled by a Twitter user, it looks amazing:
Rumored appearance of the LPL finals venue (RNG vs iG) in Nanjing has apparently been leaked
— Linda Pro League 🦦 (@iCrystalization) September 11, 2018
If this is how it’ll be, we’re in for an insane finals not just in performance value but also in production value pic.twitter.com/eqOZYcf7fY
But things don’t stop there. The two teams will reportedly being seated along the edges of the Rift, facing the center of the map. And in the middle, according to a report from The Shotcaller, will be holographic projections of the champions in real time.
That would be huge for the way fans view and interact with esports. There have been companies that attempted to combine League with augmented reality before. But this would be the first time that technology would be applied to something of this scale.
This Friday’s LPL Final between Invictus Gaming and RNG was already going to be a much-hyped rematch of the Spring Final. An amazing stage would only make things even more awesome. Tune into the action at 2:20am CT on Friday to see how the finished product works.
