Tomorrow, the League of Legends World Championship will return to the game's birthplace, the United States.
The event will begin in San Francisco, head to Chicago and New York, and end its grand finale at the Staples Center. The last time League of Legends was hosted at the Staples Center was from September to October of 2013, where South Korean titan SK Telecom T1 and its prodigy Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok beat Chinese team Royal Club and took home gold and $1 million in prize money.
A lot has changed in the world since 2013. But what did things look like last time the League of Legends World Championship took place in the United States?
The 2013 League of Legends World Championship marked the first time a South Korean team won the prestigious international title for League of Legends. That trend continued in 2014 and 2015 as Samsung White and SK Telecom T1 took home the title, respectively.
Back then, League of Legends still featured the old Summoner's Rift map. The game was played on patch 3.11, which featured Draven nerfs, Zac changes and Galio buffs. The game also did not contain specialized support items, meaning most supports bought one ward, one health potion, and one mana potion. The latest champion release in the game was Lucian, who has become a staple in the AD carry role.
Outside of esports, video game franchise Grand Theft Auto became the fastest entertainment product to reach $1 billion in sales with the release of Grand Theft Auto V.
TV shows "Breaking Bad" and "Modern Family" won their first Emmy Awards.
The reigning Super Bowl XLVII champions, the Baltimore Ravens, won two games against the Cleveland Browns and the Houston Texans and lost its final September game against the Buffalo Bills.
The reigning 2013 BCS national champion in college football, the Alabama Crimson Tide, went on a three-game winning streak, taking down the Texas A&M Aggies, the Colorado State Rams and the Ole Miss Rebels.
In early October, the playoffs for the Major League Baseball league took place: the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Cleveland Indians 4-0 in the American League Wild Card game and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Cincinnati Reds 6-2 in the National League Wild Card game.
The 2016 League of Legends World Championship will begin this weekend in San Francisco and will run simultaneously alongside several esports events throughout the month, including the Overwatch Open, the second season of Turner and WME|IMG's ELeague, The Big House 6 and ESL One New York.