Highlights of Legends: The Spectacle of League

2014 was massive for League of Legends (LoL) and eSports as a whole. Events like the 2014 World Championship, Dota 2’s The International 4 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s Dreamhack Winter brought overall viewership and prize pool levels for video game tournaments to unprecedented heights.

More than that, it is how LoL is transforming the eSports landscape to be more like a true spectator sport. To millions of people around the globe, the World Championships are a must-watch blockbuster but to people who don’t play the game — and more importantly for people who have little to no interest in League of Legends — most of the flashy plays and epic moments would be utterly lost on them.

Contrast this to great moments in other more established sports and events. You have The Shot in basketball for Michael Jordan’s buzzer beater 3-pointer that won the Bulls game 5 of the 1989 Eastern Conference First Round against the Cleveland Cavaliers. There’s Roger Federer’s backwards between the legs shot vs Djokovic during the semifinals of the 2009 US Open. How about the first time Tony Hawk landed his patented 900 at X Games 5? Diego Maradona’s “Goal of the Century” in the 1986 World Cup sits atop a number of legendary football goals.

The list goes on and while all these instances are certainly spectacles for fans of the respective sports, they’re also impressive to anyone seeing it in action. That begs the question: If League of Legends is going to be a full-fledged spectator sport, shouldn’t it also have these universally awe-inspiring moments?

Now, one could argue that it’s easier to make a connection when seeing another human body do something your own body seemingly can’t. When combined with the generally steep learning curve of MOBAs, one can make the argument that eSports is rather inaccessible and thus incompatible for general viewership.

So today, the argument is that anyone can enjoy watching a League of Legends match. That LoL certainly has its own buzzer beaters and nigh impossible goals. To that end, here are 5 of the most iconic moments in League of Legends history.

Here’s how we’ll break it down: After each clip will be a small setup description, followed by a generalized recounting for a typical LoL spectator and then an outside looking in remark for why the clip is amazing on an intuitive level, with no prior knowledge of LoL.

Fnatic vs OMG: The Heroic Backdoor Attempt

This is not only one of the greatest moments in League of Legends so far, but what will go down as one of the greatest matches of all time. In over 60 minutes of back and forth action, it all came down to this one play.

For the fan: Fnatic desperately try to backdoor  the Oh My God (OMG) nexus while most of OMG are dead or trying to recall. A heroic save by Gao “Gogoing” Di Ping and Yin “LoveLing” Le was all that stood between three members of Fnatic and a nexus that survived with only one hit remaining.

Outside looking in: So if one team wins by killing the main building, then there’s no way OMG can defend against Fnatic coming from all sides. But they did! AMAZING!

The Empire: Dawn of the Russian Overlords

This play showcases the creative style of the completely unknown Team Empire that would go on to become the legendary Moscow 5 (now Gambit Gaming). It was effectively the dawn of an era, as the world first took notice of a team that would reshape how League of Legends would be played.

For the fan: As Empire’s bot lane is ganked and outnumbered, a well timed Absolute Zero from Nunu (which is normally easily avoided or interrupted) is carefully channeled in the bush which makes it invisible to the enemy, allowing the full damage to be unleashed and stacked with a well timed Requiem from Karthus. Now you know why every Nunu ult initiated in brush is called “The Empire”

Outside looking in: Those two players were surrounded and then they suddenly turn around and their three would-be attackers explode into nothing! But how??

#ThingsFakerDoes: Faker’s Zed Mirror Match Outplay

As of the writing of this article, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok is the greatest League of Legends player in the world. He led his team to a World Championship in 2013 and even if the rest of his team was in a slump the following year, it never stopped Faker from pulling off astonishing play after astonishing play.

For the fan: Ryu “Ryu” Sang-wook opened the Zed-off with strong burst, seemingly catching Faker off guard. After Ryu expends his burst, Faker responds by timing his ultimate to dodge some of Ryu’s key skills, and makes use of his shadows to dance around Ryu while applying his own damage. Ryu manages to get his own ultimate off along with Ignite, ensuring Faker’s demise. Just at the last moment, Faker activates Quicksilver Sash to rid himself of the Death Mark that would have otherwise killed him. Some more next level kiting skills later, and Ryu then dies from Faker’s Death Mark.

Outside looking in: That one ninja got the jump on that other ninja. Other ninja is surely dead. But wait, I just blinked and now the first ninja is dead. How in the-?!?

The Insec: A Playmaking Pioneer

This was the kick that revolutionized how the world saw one champion. Lee Sin was already a formidable pick in competitive play, but thanks to one Choi “InSec” In-seok playing the Blind Monk, everyone’s eyes were opened to a world of new play-making possibilities. It’s certainly not the first time Insec pulled it off, but it was the first time on an international stage, with the spotlight trained on him.

For the fan: Insec makes the bold play of using Resonating Strike to home in on Peter “yellowpete” Wüppen. The instant ward behind yellowpete to push him into the heart of his team was, at its time, a nigh impossible maneuver to avoid. With a major damage source in yellowpete being instantly negated, the Koreans decimate the European squad, securing 4 kills while only losing 1.  InSec’s pioneering of this pushing important enemy players into your team style of initiating ushered in a higher standard of play in the competitive scene.

Outside looking in: Those two teams are at a standoff. Whoa, that one guy just closed in on the other guy and knocked him towards his team. It all happened so fast!

The Xpeke: A Backdoor to End All Backdoors

This barely needs an introduction. This is the moment that catapulted Enrique “xPeke” Cedeño Martínez into hall of fame greatness. The entire match is one for the ages, featuring the drawn out sieges that were abundant during Season 2.

For the fan: As the most watched play in LoL history, I’m pretty sure you know what happens, but just to recap, Fnatic narrowly manage to defend against SK’s final push, though they lose most of their base. Fnatic’s own game ending push is seemingly thwarted, and SK rally for the win, only for xPeke to teleport behind enemy lines and single-handedly whack at the nexus for the win.

Outside looking in: It’s preferable to watch the whole clip, but the moment itself starts around 2:30 into the video. Just watch it.

As the MOBA genre continues to grow in popularity, more and more people will be in tune with the goings on in a match without necessarily having to play the game themselves. eSports is a young field. It’ll take a while longer to have the general public keyed in to the scene in the same way basketball and football are followed. It may not even happen with League of Legends, but one day, anyone will be able to watch a professional gaming match and be at the edge of their seats.

These plays were not arranged in any particular order. Are there any other amazing plays you feel should be counted among the greatest of all time? Share them in a comment on our forum!

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