Competitive League of Legends Comes To Movie Theatres

League of Legends' Riot Games has announced a partnership with Oceanic cinema chain Hoyts to broadcast live events from the League of Legends Oceanic Pro League on movie theatre screens throughout in Australia and New Zealand in 2016.

Riot confirmed that Hoyts will play host to community-focussed viewing parties for nine events in the League of Legends calendar, including:

• OPL Split 1 Final

• International Wild Card Invitational (IWCI)

• Mid Seasonal Invitational (MSI)

• OPL Grand Final

• International Wild Card Qualifiers (IWCQ)

• World Championship Finals

Participating cinemas in Australia and New Zealand include Hoyts locations in Broadway (NSW), Highpoint (VIC), Carousel (WA), Norwood (SA), Stafford (QLD), Sylvia Park (Auckland) and Riccarton (Christchurch).

Hoyts previously hosted viewing parties for the League of Legends World Championships in 2015, attracting an attendance of over 1500 people. In a released statement, Hoyts CEO Damian Keogh said that "The esports genre continues to grow within the Australian market, consumer demand is high and we want our guests to experience these events the best way possible, on the big screen."

Tickets for the for the OPL Split 1 Final on April 5 go on sale on Tuesday March 29, and will be available from the Hoyts website. Tickets also include an in-game IP boost for League of Legends.

Recently, it was announced that sports stars Shaquille O’Neal and Alex Rodriguez had invested in a League of Legends team. Earlier in the year, mainstream media companies Yahoo and ESPN created divisions to cover esports.