Homegrown Glory: LoL Japan League Kicks Off
Riot·1/22/2015, 9:40:43 PM·0 votes·30,751 views
This Friday, Japanese esports takes a huge step forward with the launch of the 2015 League of Legends Japan League (LJL). The country’s premier tournament features six of Japan’s top teams battling it out weekly in front of a live crowd. Now with a spot in the International Wild Card Invitational (IWCI) on the horizon, fledgling Japanese teams will need competition like LJL to get ready for their international debut.
The League of Legends Japan League was established last year and held at e-Sports SQUARE in Akihabara, Tokyo. In 2014, Japan's top four teams battled it out in three seasons throughout the year, and the top two teams -- Detonation FocusMe and Rascal Jester -- ultimately squared off in the Grand Championship to crown the former as the best in the nation. Both teams return this year, and both are looking stronger than ever. They're joined by FocusMe's sister team RabbitFive, the internationally-seasoned Ozone Rampage, and two qualifier teams: Salvage Javelin and Seventh Heaven.
This season, each broadcast will feature three matches and will continue for 10 weeks until every team has played each other twice. The top three teams will then advance to a Playoff to determine the Season 1 Champion. After two Seasons (down from three last year), the two teams who've earned the most seeding points will face off in a Best of 5 Grand Championship. The winner receives the lion's share of the 2,000,000 yen overall prize pool and is crowned as the best team in Japan.
But it’s not just the prize pool or the title that makes this year’s LJL, and the increased visibility on Japanese esports, special.
This year marks the first time a Japanese team will be invited to represent the region in the IWCI. As a country without even a server to call its own, Japan's players are forced to play on North American or Korean with consistent ping in the triple digits. And with little esports infrastructure or endemic sponsorship, it's long been difficult to establish the practice environment needed to reach the top level. Even though DetonatioN FocusMe clearly stood atop Japan at the end of the 2014 season, few would bet on them to take a game off of any of the teams that competed at the Season 4 World Championship.
But this year might be different. More than ever before, there's an air of excitement and optimism surrounding the Japanese esports scene. And while at the time starting a dedicated Japanese esports cafe sounded like a fool's venture, e-Sports SQUARE has put together a tight-knit dedicated community that turns out in force for big matches. Japanese internet company CROOZ also started a partnership with Rascal Jester, allowing them to move into the country's first pro-gaming team house. DetonatioN has been aggressively recruiting new members throughout the offseason. And now, Japanese teams finally have something even bigger to aim for.
No longer isolated among their equals, Japan now stands at the bottom of a mountain. At the top: the Summoner's Cup. Looking up at the path ahead, teams from KaBuM all the way to SK Telecom stand in their way. Now, it’s time for us watch them start their climb.
You can check out the LJL's first broadcast on January 23 at 8 PM PDT on LJL's Twitch or Azubu channel. For more information, check out their official website (Japanese).
LJL 2015: Season One
The League of Legends Japan League was established last year and held at e-Sports SQUARE in Akihabara, Tokyo. In 2014, Japan's top four teams battled it out in three seasons throughout the year, and the top two teams -- Detonation FocusMe and Rascal Jester -- ultimately squared off in the Grand Championship to crown the former as the best in the nation. Both teams return this year, and both are looking stronger than ever. They're joined by FocusMe's sister team RabbitFive, the internationally-seasoned Ozone Rampage, and two qualifier teams: Salvage Javelin and Seventh Heaven.
This season, each broadcast will feature three matches and will continue for 10 weeks until every team has played each other twice. The top three teams will then advance to a Playoff to determine the Season 1 Champion. After two Seasons (down from three last year), the two teams who've earned the most seeding points will face off in a Best of 5 Grand Championship. The winner receives the lion's share of the 2,000,000 yen overall prize pool and is crowned as the best team in Japan.
But it’s not just the prize pool or the title that makes this year’s LJL, and the increased visibility on Japanese esports, special.
Stepping Onto The Stage
This year marks the first time a Japanese team will be invited to represent the region in the IWCI. As a country without even a server to call its own, Japan's players are forced to play on North American or Korean with consistent ping in the triple digits. And with little esports infrastructure or endemic sponsorship, it's long been difficult to establish the practice environment needed to reach the top level. Even though DetonatioN FocusMe clearly stood atop Japan at the end of the 2014 season, few would bet on them to take a game off of any of the teams that competed at the Season 4 World Championship.
But this year might be different. More than ever before, there's an air of excitement and optimism surrounding the Japanese esports scene. And while at the time starting a dedicated Japanese esports cafe sounded like a fool's venture, e-Sports SQUARE has put together a tight-knit dedicated community that turns out in force for big matches. Japanese internet company CROOZ also started a partnership with Rascal Jester, allowing them to move into the country's first pro-gaming team house. DetonatioN has been aggressively recruiting new members throughout the offseason. And now, Japanese teams finally have something even bigger to aim for.
No longer isolated among their equals, Japan now stands at the bottom of a mountain. At the top: the Summoner's Cup. Looking up at the path ahead, teams from KaBuM all the way to SK Telecom stand in their way. Now, it’s time for us watch them start their climb.
You can check out the LJL's first broadcast on January 23 at 8 PM PDT on LJL's Twitch or Azubu channel. For more information, check out their official website (Japanese).
