2024 LoL Esports Adventures (Part 1: LPL)

So this is the second year in a row that I’ve travelled around the world to attend LoL Esports events and I figured I’d sit down and document it because a) I have an awful memory and thought I might like to look back on it someday, and b) maybe these experiences will help other fans who are looking to go on an offline esports adventure of their own!

This year I made two trips and attended 4 events, which will be broken down into 4 posts:

1. LPL Summer — Beijing (JDG Intel Esports Arena)
2. LCK Summer — Seoul (LoL Park)
3. Worlds Swiss Stage — Berlin (LEC Riot Games Arena)
4. Words Quarterfinals — Paris (Adidas Arena)

Before I start, I guess I should also disclose that all of these experiences are from the perspective of someone who speaks English and Chinese, knows zero German and can sort of read the Korean alphabet. I also spend a stupid amount of time on Twitter/X and Weibo and I’m here for the fandom side of LoL Esports as well as the excitement of spectating the sport itself.

If you just want some tips on planning your own offline LoL Esports trip, focus on the ‘Technicals’ section and feel free to skip over my ramblings in the ‘Diary’ sections.

Technicals

Ticketing

• I purchased tickets about a week before the match through the 猫眼 (Mao Yan) Wechat app
• My Wechat is linked to a Chinese bank account but if yours is not, try asking Chinese friends or fans for help — there were a few Western fans at one of the JDG matches I went to so I know it’s definitely possible!
• You’ll need to provide your legal name and passport details while buying tickets and security will check your ID (briefly) when you enter the arena
• There’s various tiers of tickets — SVIP if you want to sit in the sofa seats in the front row and Section B/C/D tickets if you’d rather save a bit and sit in folding chairs or the bleachers at the back

Venue

• Google Maps doesn’t work in China so it’s best to navigate using Baidu Maps
• The arena is really remote so even Chinese fans who travel to Beijing for matches will stay at hotels near the arena instead of in the city centre
• If you’re travelling from the city centre, you can take the subway to the 北神树 Bei Shen Shu stop and it’s a 5–10 minute walk from there to the arena
• There’s a Luckin Coffee near the arena and some other restaurants, but you’re not allowed to bring outside food in. If you do get hungry during the match, there’s a counter that sells drinks/snacks inside the arena
• The arena is a good size and since the matches I went to weren’t very hype, the seats were mostly empty (and you can definitely get away with moving a few rows up for a better view). As long as you’re not making a ruckus or getting in the way of the cameramen, the staff are pretty chill

Diary

Since I’m a huge JDG fan, Beijing was a priority on my Asia LoL Esports trip. But because the LPL decided to change their summer split format entirely and teams had to play within their own group before moving onto the second stage, JDG’s match dates for July — which was when I planned on arriving — weren’t even confirmed until late June and I literally had to change my flight for fear of not making it to the matches I wanted to attend.

Anyway, after a 25-hour flight that included a horrendous layover at JFK, I made it to Beijing. Since I flew into PEK, which is in the north part of the city and close-ish to the Great Wall, I booked it to Mutianyu by taxi and climbed in the muggy, dizzying summer heat to shake off the jitters from sitting on the plane for so long. I won’t go into detail about the non-esports stuff I did in Beijing but it’s a city with plenty of history and great for exploring!

I was very lucky to have met two Beijing-based JDG fans at Worlds last year (L and D) and because they were seasoned pros at attending JDG matches, they took me along for the ride — literally and figuratively. They came to pick me up at my hotel about 1.5 hours before the match and drove me straight to the arena.

One of my first views of the JDG esports complex. The arena is the building with the huge screen on the left and the white building in the background is where the players used to live.

While we were waiting in the parking lot, I finally got to meet K, who has blessed us with so much wonderful Missing content and was so sweet in person (and kindly brought me a set of the adorable goods she and other fans had made for Missing’s birthday cafe back in May). Once the other fans we were waiting for arrived, we all headed towards the walkway between the building where the players lived and the front doors of the arena. This was where fans would gather before (and after) matches to greet the players and pass them gifts.

We waited a bit more as the grey clouds above us threatened rain and the crowd began buzzing when we started noticing players and security guards coming out of the white building. Although I had been fortunate enough to bump into Ruler in person at MSI in London last year, it was my first time seeing Missing and Kanavi and the other JDG players up close. And as with all celebrity encounters, there’s this surreal kind of feeling when you see them in person for the first time.

Because this was also the match day I had chosen to give Ruler and Missing the gifts I had prepared, I was extra nervous and maybe even hyperventilating a little, and I honestly don’t remember what I said to them during the exchange. What I do remember was that Ruler was as polite as always (bowing to fans in all different directions as he collected their gifts) and that the whole process was very respectful and organized — there were a number of security guards tailing the players but fans didn’t mob them and politely backed away after handing over their gifts. There was a little chirping when the coaches walked passed (i.e. fans jokingly calling out ‘don’t screw up ban-pick!’) but overall, I got the sense that everyone was there to show support and a lot of fans there were regulars who treated this as part of their usual match-day routine.

A Ruler fan I met kindly captured this moment of me passing over my gift

Kanavi being inundated with gifts from fans (ft. spectator Vusso)

Once all the players had entered the arena, the fans dispersed for a while to wait for the arena doors to officially open. Since it was a Friday afternoon, the line to enter wasn’t too bad and I didn’t have to wait in the rain for too long.

The foyer area was decently spacious with a bit of an industrial vibe, but there were so many little JDG-related details that felt really special to me as a hardcore JDG fan.

The iconic wall with JDG’s history and achievements

Chibi cardboard stands of the players (featuring an adorable cafe theme)

Merchandise store (I couldn’t resist and got some of the fuzzy cookie-style badges)

The LPL trophy on display in the merch store

I didn’t take any photos but there’s also an area beside the merch store with several tables and it’s where you can line up to grab all sorts of fan-made merch and player slogans for free. There were also fans writing and drawing signs at the tables too, plus a ballot area where you could enter a lottery for a chance to go on stage for the post-game fan interaction segment.

After wandering a bit and taking it all in, I went looking for several Twitter friends who said they were also attending the match, including S (who’s also a Kingen fan and brought me so many lovely goods she had made for Kingen and Zeka), as well as A (who gave me beautiful Ruler goods she had made and was kind enough to chat with me in English because my spoken Chinese is still kind of embarrassing).

JDG-themed photobooth where you can take a 4-cut with your player of choice. Unfortunately my Wechat Pay wasn’t working so A came in clutch and covered our cute Ruler 4-cut ❤

At one point, I heard hoots and laughter near the merch store and I realized that a bunch of fans had gathered in a circle to watch their friend open a pack of Buffun photocards and were cheering her on whenever she pulled a good card. What I also found really fun was that there was a table at the corner of the store with a small display shelf of already opened trading cards. A explained to me that fans would leave the cards they didn’t want here, and other fans who liked those cards can adopt them for free. Because I knew I’d be heading to LoL Park after Beijing, I grabbed some LCK player cards for the friends I’d be meeting later.

Another fun part of the arena was the glass window on the side of the merch store where fans (and the players themselves) wrote and drew messages and art in support. I also made sure to leave my mark there by drawing chibis of my faves!

You can see the table of trading cards up for adoption in the background lol

This was actually my first time being in a stadium built specifically for esports and even though I’m a bit biased as a JDG fan, I was blown away by how grand and impressive it felt.

This first photo was taken after the match but it’s the view when you enter. The second photo shows the bleacher-style seats at the back

Because I had made arrangements with fans on Weibo to trade our fan-made merch, I spent the remaining time before the match awkwardly going between the rows searching for those fans. This aspect of Asian fan culture is something I really do enjoy though, and it’s a big part of why I love attending matches in person. Because these interactions let you connect with fellow fans, even if it’s for a brief moment, and bond over your shared passion.

It also felt kind of rewarding too, because I had spent the month leading up to this trip frantically drawing and coordinating with manufacturers and also with poor L (who had lent me her address), in order to make the merch I was giving away. And it was nice to be able to finally give them out and see the excitement on fans’ faces when they saw the goods I had made.

Still riding off the high of all the energy around me, I was feeling overheated and my heart was still kind of racing when the match finally did start, probably because it had hit me that I was finally witnessing JDG play right in front of me and my body didn’t quite know how to process everything. But once the lights dimmed and the players started walking to the centre as part of their intros, I finally calmed down a bit and tried to focus my attention on enjoying the match.

View from Section B in the middle/right (usually JDG’s side). I watched the game itself on the red screen on the far right

Side note: the stage is quite elevated and the players’ stations are set even further back so from the audience’s angle, you can’t really see much of their faces during the game itself. Just something to keep in mind, especially if you’re used to the amphitheatre style set-up of LoL Park or the higher-level seats in the LEC Riot Games Arena.

I’m also kind of camera-shy and not comfortable with being Perceived when I’m out on esports adventures, so whenever the camera panned over the audience, I had to remember to hold my sign up to cover my face so that my ugly mug doesn’t end up on the broadcast.

I’m used to drawing on a tablet (with an erase function) so my first fan sign ended up looking a little fuggly oops

I won’t go too much into the match itself because the vods are available online, but what’s important is that JDG ended up winning. Because I was still jetlagged and had expended pretty much all my energy on the match itself, I was a bit zoned out during the celebratory Haidilao dinner after the match with L, D, K and some of their other friends. The details are kind of fuzzy now, but everyone was in a good mood and I just let the conversation and laughter and occassional gossip wash over me as I ate my dinner-that-felt-like-breakfast.

One last unexpected encounter I’ll mention — L and D had told me in earlier conversations that this was the Haidilao that the JDG players frequented, but I was still caught off guard when I passed by Sheer — who was still wearing his uniform — on my way to the appropriately fancy Haidilao bathroom. (I was too stunned to greet him and also felt kind of awkward since it was outside a bathroom, after all…)

At the end of the night, L and D dropped all of us out-of-town-ers back at our hotels and despite my exhaustion, I couldn’t help but dig through the JDG goodie bag to see which players’ merch I received.

Everything except the Ruler and Missing cookie badges were from the freebie bag that you can reserve with JDG’s official Weibo a day before the match

So that’s it for my first in-person JDG match and I think it’s probably close to a ‘typical’ fan experience. I did attend the JDG vs AL match after this one as well — the one with the fan meeting — but I‘ve posted a brief fan account of it on Twitter already (and it’s honestly kind of embarrasing because I get real emotional thinking back on it) but maybe I’ll make a separate post about it someday!

Overall, it was an amazing experience and some of the reasons I’d recommend it are:

• Amazing facilities and impressive arena that feel modern and fan-focused
• Plenty of seats available so it’s not as hard to fight for tickets (if you’re able to find a way to buy them)
• Remote location but accessible by public transit and lots of hotel options nearby
• Chill vibes, sense of community, and good experiences while interacting with staff