League Of Legends team Counter Logic Gaming has just been purchased by the Madison Square Garden Company. If someone had told me just a few years ago that I’d be typing those words, I’d ask them if Doublelift’s ego could fit in a stadium of that size. Now, it’s just another step in esports legitimacy, one more notch in the belt for video game pros who long to be accepted by the rest of the world.
In his statement to fans, CLG owner and former player HotShotGG said: “MSG shares the same commitment to esports as CLG has had all these years. I’m proud of how far CLG has come, but we’re not here to just be a top esports team - we’re aiming to be the best. This is only the beginning, and I can’t wait to take on this next step in esports with all of you.” Hotshot started out as a no-name player on the League Of Legends ladder, playing with friends and starting a team. Now, he owns one of the largest brands in esports, with teams in nearly every game where there’s an audience. It’s fascinating how someone can start off with next to nothing but passion and skill and end up as part of the same group as the Knicks or the Rangers.
CLG first played at Madison Square Garden back in the NA LCS 2015 Summer Championship, playing against Team SoloMid in one of the best series of League Of Legends ever played. I watched the event from a bar just a few blocks away from the venue, unable to get tickets the the largest gaming event of the year. Watching the same space where rock stars and basketball players regularly played be taken over by League fans was amazing. Watching a room full of strangers banging light-up inflatable sticks together, chanting for their favorites while watching a giant screen with a video game on it was gratifying. It was the first time I remember thinking to myself, “wow, esports is a real thing now.”
A year later, I got the chance to attend the League Of Legends World Championship at MSG as as a member of the press. Standing next to the stage and seeing that same level of electricity I’d watched through a monitor months prior, was magical. The sounds the tubes made as they banged together combined with the screams from the crowd for teams that weren’t even playing was deafening. When a Baron or Dragon was stolen the applause was insane, you’d be mistaken for thinking Kobe Bryant was playing instead of 10 Koreans playing as magical cows, trees and knights.
Madison Square Garden is one of New York’s last true landmarks, the sort of place that’s stood through gentrification. Even with the handicap of being stuck to the shithole that is Penn Station, getting to play there is a badge of honor, an accomplishment that so few will ever truly experience. I only want to see esports succeed, but I worry that the whole industry is moving too fast. To go from a teenager playing a computer game with friends to being part of one of the largest entertainment venues in the world over half a decade is a huge leap.
I hope HotshotGG and CLG continue to excel at League of Legends and keep making esports look good. For old times sake, here’s a clip of HotShotGG saying that Doublelift and TSM “don’t really get alone.”
