E-SPORTS FESTIVAL IN BUSAN

[Anchor Lead]

The number of e-sports users has surpassed 100 million. A competition to pick the spring-season world champion of League of Legends has kicked off in Busan, the haven of e-sports in Korea. It's the first time Korea is hosting the event and spectators were allowed for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

[Pkg]

Fans stand in a long line at the Busan e-Sports Arena. Tickets for nearly 300 seats allocated daily for qualifying games were sold out in just one second on May 4. Fans rushed to see the best of the best in League of Legends, an e-sports game that has taken the world by storm.

[Soundbite] Kim Seo-an, Park Jae-hak(Spectators) : "We're rooting for T1 from South Korea. We're both wearing uniforms. We hope T1 will do well and win."

The opening game was a battle between the South Korean team T1, whose members include "Faker" Lee Sang-hyuk, a.k.a. "the BTS of online games," and the Vietnamese team Saigon Buffalo. The competition features winning teams of the Spring Split from 11 regional leagues. Some 600 players and staff from 33 countries are participating this year. All games are broadcast live around the globe. Last year, up to 23 million viewers per minute watched the final round of the competition online.

[Soundbite] Lee Jung-hoon(LOL Championship Korea) : "This competition is being watched by 100 million people worldwide. It will hopefully promote Busan and help it win the bid to host World EXPO 2030."

The group stage of the League of Legends Mid-season Invitational tournament is to be held at the Busan e-Sports Arena through May 15. The rumble and knockout stages will take place at the Busan Exhibition & Convention Center through May 29.