eSports Gain Mainstream Footing As BBC Agrees Deal For League Of Legends Live Coverage

In what’s probably the largest slice of news regarding eSports to come out of our fair isle, the BBC has said it will be showing the League of Legends World Championships Finals live on TV. The quarter finals are being held at Wembley Arena, with BBC Three hosting the entire event live. It’s undoubtedly one of the greatest leaps forward eSports has taken here in the UK, with League of Legends being granted mainstream coverage.

The League of Legends World Championships Quarter Finals will be taking place from October 15th over four days. Radio 1 DJ Dev Griffin, who’s reportedly a keen gamer, will be hosting the coverage, which will also include interviews with top team members and fans that have turned up to arena to watch the event. It’s all part of a collaboration with BBC Sport that gives a clear indicator the BBC believes eSports is headed for big things. It’ll be running on the same 24 livestream that hosts events such as Glastonbury. "We jumped at the chance to collaborate with BBC Sport and bring this massive UK event to a wider audience," said Damian Kavanagh, Controller of BBC Three. "BBC Three will always experiment with new ways to deliver content that young people want, in ways they want. I think this is an exciting way to cover something millions of young Brits love, in a BBC Three way."

Despite the massive number of gamers involved in eSports it still had a difficult time breaking into the mainstream. It’s great to see an initiative like this from BBC though, which not only validates its authenticity as a sport but also can potentially open up eSports to an entirely new audience. League of Legends and eSports is breaking out of the confines of Twitch then. Can it finally gain recognition among the general public? Or can professional gaming still not compete with Bake Off for prime time viewing? Let us know what you think!