[ Updated ] Season 3 World Championship heads to Los Angeles

Posted on at 9:37 AM by Moobeat
Update: Added in tons more information from the brief reddit AMA.

The first details on the S3 World Championship finals has been posted. No ticket information yet, but we do have the date of October 4th 2013 and the location of the Staples Center in LA, California.
Continue reading for more information.

Here is Magus with the initial set of details:
"Professional League of Legends teams have electrified live audiences throughout Season 3 in Anaheim, Cologne, Moscow, Dallas, Shanghai and beyond. With the worldwide finals on October 4 and the most talented competitors in esports preparing for the greatest challenge of the season, we need a championship venue that matches the occasion. With that in mind, we've selected the legendary Staples Center in Los Angeles to host the Season 3 World Championship final. 
With the League Championship Series Summer Split already under way, a flurry of regional qualifying events on the horizon and the playoffs approaching, every game counts on the road to the World Championship final. The action reaches a boiling point in September, when fourteen elite teams from North America, Europe, Korea, China, Southeast Asia and one of the emerging League of Legends territories all meet at the Galen Center in Los Angeles for the playoffs. The top two earn the right to compete for the Summoner's Cup in front of thousands of cheering fans. 
Esports action and news hits lolesports.com first. We'll share the format and exact dates for the playoffs there, as well as info on how to secure tickets and travel accommodations for both the playoffs and final. Catch all of that and HD livestreams of every game on the road to the World Championship final at lolesports.com."

If you mosey on over to lolesports.com, you'll find a little more information:
"This year you've been watching the best League of Legends teams from around the globe battle to dominate their regions. But every game this season also counts towards qualifying for a shot at the most coveted prize in League of Legends esports: the Summoner's Cup, awarded to the winner of the World Championship. Today, Riot announced that the final competition will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, one of the most prestigious homes of pro sports in North America. 
You can track the road to the World Championship right here on lolesports.com when the first regional qualifier begins with Southeast Asia on August 17. Following the same format as Season 2, each region has been allocated a set number of teams to compete in the World Playoffs, plus an additional two berths have been added this year. One new spot was awarded to Korea as the champions of the mid-season All-Star Tournament, and another will be granted to the International Wildcard tournament winner at Gamescom.
The entries for each region are as follows: 
North America - 3 entries
Europe - 3 entries
Southeast Asia - 2 entries
China - 2 entries
Korea - 3 entries
International Wildcard - 1 entry 
All of the qualifying teams will converge in LA on September 16 for the start of the Playoffs. The Semifinals are being held at the USC Galen Center and the two teams who emerge will progress to the biggest League of Legends esports stage ever for the final World Championship game. The victorious team will get its name etched onto the Summoner's Cup and take home the $1 million first place prize, increasing the Season 3 global pool to over $8 million. 
More details will be revealed in the coming weeks on the regional qualifiers and Championship format, all of the venues and dates for the coming games, and where to buy tickets. Make sure to follow @lolesports to get notified the instant more news is published."

Over on reddit, RedBeard mentioned tickets will go on sale in early August:
"Staples was certainly our first pick for our S3 World Championship. We think the venue is going to offer the best possible experience for our fans, both live and on-stream.

Tickets on sale in early August, date will be released soon."


Riot Redbeard and Riot Magus also answered several more questions over on reddit's post announcement AMA:
[ Do you think LoL / Esports will be able to compete with mainstream sports like football, soccer, or basketball? ] " We're interested in building an event and broadcast experience that's in the same arena (literally, haha) as other mainstream sports, because we think that'd be the best thing for League players and fans. 
As for being as "mainstream" as traditional sports, that's not really a goal. If it happens, great."
[ How do people at the venues react when you explain to them what you want to do? ] "Lots of disbelief and confusion tbh...it's a big learning process for non-industry people that we deal with, but once we show them videos of LCS, or live events, they come around. Seeing our awesome fans resonates well with non-gamer sports people."
[ How does this new venue compare to last year's venue? ] "We'll actually be at the S2 Worlds venue (Galen Center @ USC) for our semi-finals. Staples Center is like Galen's larger, way-more-awesome big brother."
[ Will there ever be more events on the east coast? ] "We'll be looking everywhere, including the East Coast, for future live events. No promises on when but we want to do more."

[ Will there be more shops/booths? Last year's event was lacking... ] "We'll be looking to improve the entire fan experience and we know that this was a pain point for many last year."
[ Who will be casting? ] "There will be a ton of games during the entire Playoffs and Final - you'll see a bunch of casters go at it. We'll have multiple languages on site and many more around the world." 
[ Will the time of the event be better acclamated to non-US watchers? ] "We are going to be showing different days at different times as well, so some of the events will be prime time for Europe. Sorry the finals isn't at a great time for you guys though, tough juggling worldwide time zones."

[ What do you think the future of eSports will be? Do you think it will just get bigger? ] "We are laser-focused on creating a compelling and awesome experience for fans, and so you can count on us continuing to increase the quality of the broadcast, stories about teams and players, additional points of access to the international scene, etc. 
Another big area of improvement we view is the Challenger scene, and building an ecosystem ala NCAA for football, or D-league for NBA, so that the scene can get stronger from the bottom-up."
[ What's biggest challenge you guys have faced when hosting this event? ] "Wow, not sure where to start. There are so many things to consider, everything from actual logistics, to the broadcast intricacies, to managing all the international teams/players, to satisfying millions of viewers, I'm not sure one stands out more than others. It will be a great challenge the team is excited to take on though."

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