Believe it or not, League of Legends wasn’t always the number one game in the world, and it definitely didn’t always share a spot at the competitive table at Tokyo in Tulsa.
Cody Willmon hosted online tournaments for the young game out of his home, cultivating up to 64 teams from across the country to compete for RP. Staff at HXC Gaming Events took notice of the huge turnout, eventually inviting Willmon to partner with them to help grow the competitive scene. After some successful online events, Willmon wanted something more “real” for the fast-growing game.
“I originally didn’t realize the potential, but once we saw the success, I wanted to bring the League tournaments to a LAN format,” Willmon said. “I joined an Oklahoma Facebook group for League that had maybe 200 people in it and hosted a lot of online stuff. Eventually, I split from that group with Landon Carroll to create the current Oklahoma League of Legends Facebook group. The biggest struggle was getting a League tournament set up at Tokyo in Tulsa due to the limitations of the venue. Finally, a vote passed to have League at Tokyo in Tulsa in 2013, and after experiencing some expected bumps and twists, the event was a success.” [Read more…]