'T1 Nears LoL World Championship Title, Leads 2-0 on Weibo... Gwanghwamun Square Also Buzzing'

On the afternoon of the 19th, when the League of Legends (LoL) World Championship (Worlds) final between our team T1, led by 'Faker' Lee Sang-hyeok, and the Chinese team Weibo Gaming took place, Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul was buzzing with fans cheering for T1's victory.

The opening ceremony is taking place on the afternoon of the 19th at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul, where the final of the '2023 League of Legends World Championship' is being held. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Fans, armed with thick padding and hot packs, gathered one after another in front of the four large screens installed in the square even before the match started. The 5,000-seat viewing area (including standing seats), opened around noon, was already full by 4:30 PM, about an hour before the match began. As of 5 PM, an estimated 10,000 people (according to the organizers) had visited Gwanghwamun Square. Some fans had been waiting to enter since 6 AM to watch the match from the front. Around 5:30 PM, when our team players entered the stadium and their names were called one by one, fans cheered loudly, tapping their light sticks.

This is the first time that a Worlds street cheering event, rather than a World Cup, has been held at Gwanghwamun Square.

Worlds is the most prestigious international club competition for LoL held every November and is the largest e-sports event in the world in terms of audience size. It has been five years since Worlds was held in Korea, following the 2018 tournament, and nine years since the finals were held in Seoul. 'LoL' is a game where five players form a team and win by breaking through the opponent's defenses to destroy the building called the 'Nexus' deep in their base. It is called 'Worlds' by analogy to the 'World Cup.'

In line with this year’s Worlds, the Seoul Metropolitan Government transformed the area around Gwanghwamun Square into a space for e-sports and gaming from the 16th to the 19th. To prevent safety accidents due to crowd density, safety personnel and police were deployed around Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, the venue for the finals, and Gwanghwamun Square, where the street cheering event was held.

The match currently has T1 leading Weibo Gaming with a game score of 2-0.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.