T1 wins League of Legends World Championship in Seoul [REWIND 2023]

Korea's T1 took down China's Weibo Gaming 3-0 in the best-of-five final at the LoL World Championship as the hometown team were crowned champions for the fourth time. Tens of thousands of fans flocked to Korea for the six-week tournament.

Members of team T1 are seen on the screens during the final round of the 2023 League of Legends World Championship against China's Weibo Gaming at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on Nov. 19. [AP/YONHAP]

Tens of thousands of fans of online game League of Legends (LoL) flocked to Korea this fall for the 2023 LoL World Championship, a six-week tournament held in arenas across Seoul and Busan.

Ahead of the finals, a “Worlds Fan Fest” by gamemaker Riot Games and the Seoul Metropolitan Government transformed Gwanghwamun Square into a playground of gaming booths and merch stands. And on the day of the final between Korea’s T1 and Chinese team Weibo Gaming, which took place at a sold-out Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul, thousands of fans packed together in the cold to watch the last round at the Square on a big screen.

T1 swiftly took down Weibo Gaming 3-0 in the best-of-five final as the hometown team were crowned champions for the fourth time — the most wins for any team in tournament history.

This year’s Worlds was at one point the most-watched tournament in Esports history, breaking the record for peak concurrent viewers with more than 6 million, according to Esports data aggregator Esports Charts.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]