Madison Square Garden hosted yet another monumental series in the arena’s second showing as a League of Legends tournament destination.

SK Telecom T1 vs Rox Tigers dazzled with unique picks, calculated play and a five-game series packed with drama and intrigue. The fans echoed this intensity, which amplified some of the night’s most emotional moments.

I couldn’t help but think of the site’s pedigree — from Knicks championships to live performances — as I sat in America’s most storied arena to watch two titans of Korean League of Legends do battle.

After H2K vs Samsung — a forgettable series — though, it became clear that the venue’s tradition isn’t what made League’s matchups in the Garden memorable. ROX vs SKT had everything going for it, and even the 2015 summer finals offered an emotional battle.

For the Garden, this weekend will likely be forgotten in the coming weeks, as basketball returns from its offseason. The Garden may very well go down as a site of utmost importance, but not for the novelty many bestow it.

The road to the Garden

Courtesy of Reddit user /u/lcykelvin

When Riot centralized its League circuit and created the League Championship Series in 2013, one of the consequences was that the game grew more rooted in Los Angeles. The post-IPL era was rough for gamers in the northeast.

For two years, not one major League event made its way to the east coast. While this was true for many regions — and still is for several countries — northeast fans, myself included, couldn’t help but feel far from the action as we watched each week online.

Attending an esports event is like no sporting event I’ve ever been to. Hockey games and baseball games are great for a group of friends, but their frequency and consistency take away from all but the most key playoff game. A downside of sports, like baseball, is that an emotional stake in one of the teams can make the difference between a night out with friends and a memorable experience.

Esports is more than that. Despite increasing salaries, esports competitors are still regular people with real-life problems. They are relatable, which often makes rooting for teams more about the players, than the organization. That’s bad for organizations, but at a venue, that draws a crowd that’s more interested in excitement and in-game mastery, rather than rooting for the team their grandfather liked.

These events are also sporadic. Although dedicated leagues exist, most bigtime events take place every few months. In League, Words, two finals, the Mid-Season Invitational, and a few IEM tourneys are available for fans to see the best teams in the world compete. The people at these events are also unique. League tournaments sometimes feel more like a hybrid of a convention and a sporting event, because traveling through spaces and meeting people with a common interest is one of the many appeals. The Northeast was barren, in terms of League tournaments, so many felt robbed of these experiences.

In 2015, the EU LCS shook things up when it hosted its spring finals in Rotterdam, Netherlands. For NA fans, though, the league’s decision to keep NA finals in Los Angeles drew ire. Was it unfair to NA fans that Danish fans got their own event? The backlash was minimal, but there was serious disappointment.

There wasn’t much time for the negative feelings to sustain themselves, as on Monday, June 1, 2015, Riot announced the summer finals would move to New York City and take place in the Garden.

Local fans were ecstatic. Whether you’re a Knicks fan or not, the Garden is massive name in entertainment arenas. Even the broadcasters hyped the location, emphasizing “at Madison Square Garden,” whenever teams solidified their slots in the Top 4.

Doublelift’s Trophy

Courtesy of Riot Games.

When a Team SoloMid vs Counter Logic Gaming finals unfolded, fans joked that LCS must be scripted. The greatest rivalry in NA LCS would settle everything in New York City, at a time when major news outlets, like ESPN, began showing interest in esports as a whole.

The finals were more than rivals in a big city -- The finals were a chance for Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng to finally win a LAN event. Doublelift was infamous for lacking a win on LAN, which prompted a fan to make an empty subreddit called “Doublelift’s Trophy Case”. If he could lead CLG to a victory, he’d have the ultimate redemption, right before the biggest tournament of his life, World 2015.

At the event, the perennial underdogs, CLG, won the series in convincing fashion. Loud TSM chants drained, as CLG’s faithful fans overcame their rivals.  

Visible tears dripped down the faces of several members of CLG. By the time they gave their post-game interviews, everyone in the building shared in the players’ moment. There,  all the money, sponsors and notoriety faded away. The lights shined on CLG, victorious, as they celebrated possibly the greatest moment of their careers. The Garden didn’t manufacture this moment. Instead, this moment made the Garden’s dip into esports memorable.

The Battle of the Gods

Courtesy of Riot Games.

Many assumed that summer finals would be the last time League came to New York for a while, and Riot would return to a West Coast-focused schedule that’d be a hassle for anyone else to attend. Many were content with that: they got their one, after all.

Then Riot announced the summer finals and Worlds locations. To fans’ surprise, Worlds would once again take place in North America, while summer finals would give Canada a shot. Notably, the semifinals were scheduled for the Garden, once again.

Although great for Americans, Asian countries, like China, were denied of an opportunity to the World Championship. There’s no fair solution. Other countries will have their moment, but many could not help but think it should’ve been now, as NA was the only region to host multiple Word Championships.

Regardless, the 2016 season unfolded with new investment, storylines and teams. New players, coaches and owners tried their luck at the LCS season. By the end of August, however, the board was cleared, and TSM, CLG and Cloud9 returned once more to the World Championship.

By the New York semis, though, North America was eliminated from the tournament. Some fans sold tickets for cheap, in anger that they wouldn’t see their hometown favorites in MSG. Still, SKT and ROX proved far superior, as they were the headliners on Friday, October 23.

As introductions began, both teams fed off the energy of the crowd. Fan-favorites, such as Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, Han "Peanut" Wang-hot and TSM garnered booming chants and shouts. The series, though, was even more electric.

ROX caught SKT off-guard with an unusual Miss Fortune support pick. Historically, SKT is at its worst when they can’t control the drafts and how the game is played. In 2015, EDG won MSI with by trapping Faker into an anti-Leblanc composition. This time, the Miss Fortune pick capitalized on Zyra, an otherwise high-priority support.

ROX, who never before beat SKT in a Best-of-five series, were one game away from overcoming their mortal foe. Then Faker and company showed why they’re the most successful organization in League of Legends history. Once again, a perennial underdog had a chance to overcome its demon in Madison Square Garden. This time, though, the redemption narrative flopped.

Faker and company battled back to force a final game. Then, SKT dismantled the Tigers’ final structures, one by one. Desperation took hold, and Song "Smeb" Kyung-ho teleported behind a ward to flank Faker, who’s had a sliver of health.

This moment was every narrative writer’s wet dream: Smeb and the Tiger’s redemption, all through a comeback that started with Smeb slaying the so-called “unkillable demon king”. That is, until Faker juked the shock blast and reminded the entire world how he earned that moniker in the first place.

Regardless, that series was monumental for so many reasons. The level of play and emotional impact alone will make League fans remember this series for years to come.

Those that were in attendance, though, will have an even deeper attachment. They witnessed it, after. So when the novelty of American sports stadiums hosting video games fades, two of the Garden’s series’ will be remembered, not for the location, but the matches themselves.

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