Riot Games transforms Brazil into a gamer entertainment paradise

Riot Games, publisher of one of the world’s largest multiplayer online battle arena games, League of Legends, valued at nearly US$21 billion, hosted the grand finals of the Brazilian Championship of League of Legends (CBLoL) last Saturday (3) in São Paulo.

The event brought together just over 10,000 people at the Ibirapuera Gym, the venue’s maximum capacity, and marked the return of large crowd e-sports events.

Among Riot’s main investors is Chinese Tencent, one of the largest gaming companies in the world, valued at over US$550 billion.

The event was not only about the dispute between the teams of Loud and paiN Gaming, but also about music, entertainment, cosplay performances and many other elements of pop culture.

In addition to a Cirque du Soleil-like opening with performances by BNegão, Rincon Sapiência and Katú Mirim.

This year, for the first time ever, Riot Games hosted the halftime show with performances by Cat Dealers and Haikass, following the model of what the Super Bowl has been doing with Pepsi for years. In the case of the CBLoL, it was a partnership with Heineken.

Brazil is the largest gaming market in Latin America, with estimated revenues of R$11 (US$2.5) billion in 2021 and expected growth of 6% in 2022, according to consulting firm Newzoo.

]In addition to the consumption of games, the country also stands out for hiring professionals for the industry.

The 9th edition of the Game Brazil Survey (PGB), the sector’s most important survey, showed a growth of 2.5 percentage points this year compared to 2021, with 74.5% of the Brazilian population saying they play games.

In other words, Brazilians increasingly consider themselves gamers.

TEN YEARS OF BRAZIL

This year’s CBLoL took place in the run-up to Riot’s tenth anniversary celebrations in Brazil.

Since arriving in the country in August 2012, the company, founded in 2006 in Los Angeles, California, has held several championships across the nation.

The most emblematic of these events took place in 2015. That year, the company brought together more than 12,000 people at Allianz Parque in São Paulo, drawing the attention of major brands in particular to the potential of Brazilians in the consumption of games and e-sports.

According to Newzoo, e-sports is an important part of the gaming industry, turning over more than US$2 billion annually.

In this segment, the professional competitive scene gathers various tournaments based on titles such as Free Fire, Fortnite, Valorant, Counter Strike and League of Legends itself.

According to PGB, the percentage of Brazilian gamers who say they know e-sports has increased by 32.8%.

In addition, the survey also shows that 76.5% of gamers indicate electronic games as their main form of entertainment. In 2020, before the pandemic, that number was nearly 20 percentage points lower.

“However, the consolidation of this gaming modality does not mean that the innovations in this segment are over. Brazilian gamers are increasingly open to new experiences, technologies and innovations,” explains Carlos Silva, partner at GoGamers.

LOUD TEAMS

At this year’s edition, the big winner of CBLoL was one of the Loud teams.

Already considered one of the largest in Latin America, the e-sports organization has broken records in its history, including being the first e-sports organization to reach 1 billion views on its YouTube channel.

Bruno Oliveira Bittencourt (PlayHard), one of the founders of Loud, was Forbes Under 30 in 2020.

In Brazil alone, where we operate, we are already seeing e-sports enter mainstream culture. We’re seeing university programs, professional leagues, and even Olympic recognition at the next Games,” he points out.