China’s e-sports players are challenging South Korea’s dominance

Some 4,000 fans gathered at the bexco Centre in Busan, a big port city in South Korea, on May 29th. Another 2.2m tuned in online. They were there for the finals of the Mid-Season Invitational, a prestigious e-sports tournament. A dozen teams had been competing over the course of three weeks to show off their skills at League of Legends (lol), an online strategy-fantasy game. Now just two remained: Royal Never Give Up from China and t1, representing the home side. As the battle raged, t1 soon sputtered. The mood in the hall grew sombre. Some fans left early. By the time the Chinese team, locked down at home and joining virtually, emerged victorious, few were left. Confetti rained down in a half-empty hall.