It’s now almost a month since I joined Riot Games as the European League of Legends Championship (LEC) Commissioner. My first few weeks have been nothing short of fantastic and I’ve enjoyed getting to work with amazing people that are relentlessly driven in bringing value to our incredible fans and players. Now, as we head towards Summer Playoffs, I wanted to take a moment to connect with our fanbase for the very first time.
Many of you reading this may not know me, but we will likely have one thing in common; a lifelong passion and dedication to gaming. It is that passion, in particular for competitive gaming, that fuelled my decision to pursue a career in esports. I blend this with my other interests of technology and science, to bring what I believe is a unique perspective to this world and now, this role at Riot Games. One of my first major roles was at Blizzard Entertainment, where I spent more than five years launching both global and regional esports products for Hearthstone, StarCraft, Warcraft and Heroes of the Storm. Most recently, I was the General Manager at ESL Gaming, where I was responsible for building esports ecosystems and leading the development for the organisation's new products.
These roles have now led me here, to the position of LEC Commissioner, and what an exciting time it is for the league. We’ll once again have an audience join us for the [2022 Summer Finals in Malmö][1], the league is more competitive than ever and we have a great roster of partners that is continuing to expand. That’s why the role was so appealing to me. It allows me to join one of the most prestigious publishers and world renowned esport tournaments in the world and delve even further into my passion for MOBAs in this exciting period of growth for Riot Games esports. It truly feels as though this path is the right one for me.
What the league has achieved over the past few years is exceptional and every single person in this amazing community should be proud of their contribution to that. I feel genuine excitement and dedication about the role and I’m hyper-focused on playing a part in establishing the league as a sport for generations of both current and future fans. My predecessor, Maximilian Peter Schmidt has done an incredible job during the last couple of years as Commissioner, taking the LEC from strength to strength. It’s an exhilarating time to take over the reins and begin planning for the 2023 season, while still getting to work closely with Max as he oversees League of Legends esports as a whole across the region.
During the next few months I’m going to continue to immerse myself fully in the fantastic League esports ecosystem our region has created, with the goal of becoming deeply understanding of all its intricacies. It truly is an industry leading infrastructure that has allowed many talented LoL pros to grow and compete on the biggest regional and international stages of all.
The LEC team and I will continue to explore ways to improve and develop the league itself, especially as the 2022 Season draws to a close and we begin looking towards 2023 and beyond. One of the most important goals we have is to keep offering the best-in-class esports experience for our fans, teams and players. We have a wonderful product, but we can always improve and that’s what we’re committed to doing. Our fans play an important role in achieving that, so we’ll continue our dialogue with the community across all of our channels. For those of you that have a particularly cool idea, you can always reach me personally on Twitter at [@arbykov][2]. Your feedback is crucial, so that we can carry on growing the league in a positive direction.
For now though, all attention turns to the LEC Playoffs this weekend and the Finals in Malmö on September 10-11. I’m very excited we’re bringing back fans to a roadshow for the Summer Finals for the first time since 2019 and can’t wait to experience my first since joining this incredible organisation.
[1]: https://lolesports.com/article/secure-your-lec-tickets-as-we-welcome-fans-back-for-the-summer-season/bltbdaba99a5c4ac042
[2]: https://twitter.com/arbykov
