The most iconic moments in the history of eSports
Gaming has always been a place of great emotion. There have been moments that make you laugh, cry, and feel confused. You can always hop on to a game and create these moments yourself or find clips of your favorite streamers experiencing them. And this is the reason why gaming has become the leader in the entertainment industry in recent years. This is not so much different in the highest level of competitive gaming either.
From insane comebacks to crazy outplays and straight-up blunders, there have been many memorable moments in the history of eSports. To celebrate these fantastic plays, we have gathered some of the most iconic moments in eSports history that fans hold dear to their hearts.
5. League of Legends World Championship 2017 opening ceremony — 2017
The 2017 League of Legends World Championship was special for many reasons. The iconic song Legends Never Die was written for the event, the team SKT T1 lost their world-title win streak, and the most important of all, the legendary opening ceremony.
League of Legends World Championships’ opening ceremonies has been getting attention since 2014 after Riot brought in Imagine Dragons for a live show. Since then, the grand finale has been a big deal for many League of Legends fans, and the event has become one of the most celebrated events in the eSports industry.
The grand finale of the 2017 tournament was held at the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing, China, and the stadium was packed with hyped-up fans. The event took off with a live performance of Legends Never Die by Against The Current alongside some well-planned choreography.
However, the star of the show was a virtual Elder Dragon from the game that showed up at the stadium and chillingly amazed the fans. The event was viewed live by millions and quickly blew up on the internet for Riot’s creativity.
4. XPeke’s Legendary Backdoor – League of Legends IEM Season 7 Katowice — 2013
The fourth spot on this list is also secured by one of the craziest League of Legends moments. “Backdooring” in League of Legends is a technique when you sneak into an unattended enemy nexus and break it to sneakily win the game while the enemy team is busy doing something else on the map. It is always exciting when a backdoor happens on the main stage, and XPeke’s legendary backdoor might be the best up to this date.
Fnatic was playing against SK Gaming in the group stage of IEM Season 7 Katowice in 2013. The game had just gone over the 50-minute mark, and SK Gaming was winning team fights on their way to finishing the game. However, Fnatic’s then mid-laner XPeke was on Kassadin, and he had other plans. Fortunately for Fnatic, SK’s Nexus was open, and XPeke took on the mission to go into the enemies’ base while they were busy pushing down on FNC’s base. XPeke would go on to juke enemies, successfully destroy the enemy nexus, and claim the victory for Fnatic in a crazy play.
3. s1mple’s 1v2 falling no scope — 2016
Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev is a legendary player that everyone has heard of at some point in their lives. He is a seasoned CS:GO player famous for dominating the competitive CS:GO scene with his legendary AWP skills. However, this play might not be the best moment in the history of CS:GO or even s1mple’s best performance up to date. But it surely is one of the most iconic moments in the entirety of eSports.
During the 2nd major of the year 2016, ESL One Cologne 2016, Team Liquid played against the legendary Fnatic in the semi-finals. The team won the first map they chose, Cobblestone, and the next was Cache. The Ukrainian star, s1mple, was playing for Team Liquid and found himself in a 1v2 situation in round 14, but s1mple didn’t panic. S1mple made one of the most iconic plays in CS:GO history by no-scoping while being mid-air and going on to no-scope the last remaining player right after the first one. The play was not only recognized by the fans and casters but also by the game’s developer, Valve. Valve added a graffiti spray at the place where s1mple made this legendary play to commemorate it.
2. Faker vs. Ryu Zed outplay — 2013
The second spot on this list goes to another insane League of Legends moment. If you are a fan of this game, you might have already seen or even heard the clip that goes, “look at the cleanse, look at the moves, Faker what was that.” 1v1 moments in competitive matches are always hype and very entertaining to watch. Faker vs. Ryu’s Zed Outplay moment might just be the best 1v1 moment in the history of League of Legends, and it deserves the second spot on this list.
SKT T1 was going against KT Rolster Bullets in the fifth game of the qualification series for the 2013 League of Legends World Championship. Back in the day, the game didn’t feature a draft mode as it does now, so the two Midlanders, Faker, and Ryu, found themselves going against the same champion, Zed. Later into the game, the two would engage in a legendary duel where Faker makes some godlike moves to confuse the entire world and win the duel.
1. Daigo’s insane parry outplay — 2004
This has to be the most insane outplay any eSports crowd has ever seen. During the 2004 EVO World Championship Finals, Daigo Umehara was up against Justin Wong for the title of Street Fighter III: Third Strike.
The score was 1-1 when Daigo found himself in a sticky situation where he was one hit away from losing the round. Justin was playing Chun-Li, and he charged toward him with his ultimate in hopes of finishing off Daigo’s low HP Ken. But the unthinkable happened, and Daigo parried every single hit of Justin’s finisher to turn the match around and used his own finisher to win the match. This is easily one of the best moments in the history of eSports.
Final takeaways of the most iconic moments in eSports history
For many years, it has been debated whether eSports is a true “sport.” Still, these highlighted and iconic moments in eSports history show the true feelings encapsulated in the audiences who partake in watching these highly skilled players perform unbelievable feats.
While the true spirit of competition is present in the above examples, the audience’s reactions are truly palpable in the match between Daigo Umehara and Justin Wong. These instances, and many more to come, are sure to solidify their place in the almanacs of eSports history.
