Paris (AFP)

Nobody expected such a slap ... The Chinese FPX team crushed the G2 Europeans (3-0) Sunday in Paris during the final of the video game world championships League of Legends, one of the most important events of the year in the esport.

After a one-way game, the FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) Chinese raised the Summoner's Cup, the name of the trophy awarded to the winner, in front of nearly 20,000 spectators gathered at Bercy.

"I did not think it would be so dry," acknowledged AFP Fabien Culié, aka "Chips", who commented on the final live for OGaming TV. "There is a little sense of frustration and unfinished, I would have liked to feel some kind of suspense."

The title of world champion therefore remains in China one more year after last year's victory of the Invictus Gaming team.

For the first final of the "Worlds" held in Paris, the room was largely won the cause of G2, the last representative of Europe in the competition.

And G2, which hoped to offer the continent its first title since 2011, had largely dominated the season. Spaniard Carlos "Ocelote" Rodriguez's team was particularly impressed by eliminating the three-time world champion SKT in the semi-finals, who rank in their "Faker" rank, considered the greatest all-time player in the league. Legends.

"In general, it's a super-fun team to watch, they're not static, they're combative," said 23-year-old Laura, who regularly follows League of Legends' European and South Korean leagues, sometimes hours per day.

In the aisles of Bercy, filled with fans in cosplay, the practice of disguising himself as a video game character, not easy to meet a single supporter of the Chinese team.

Crowd support, giant clappings, singing and olas, were not enough for Rasmus "Caps" Winther and his teammates, overwhelmed by Kim Tae-sang, aka "Doinb", and his own.

The League of Legends "Worlds" finale, "LoL" in gamers' jargon, is considered the Grail of esport competitions, ie competitive video game tournaments.

- Dragons and turrets -

The game raises crowds all over the world, in crowded concert halls or stadiums.

His goal is simple: two teams of five players compete to destroy the base of the opponent, while evolving in a fantasy world of monsters, dragons, turrets and henchmen. "The characters are inspiring, it's super fun," says Laura.

For ten years, the title published by the American studio Riot Games is the locomotive of esport, a sector now gone from a small hobby of geeks to a flourishing industry. Esport is no longer a niche but a global "mainstream" phenomenon and LoL is the champion.

For this final, a giant screen was installed on the forecourt of the Paris City Hall and the online audience of the final should exceed 100 million spectators last year.

© 2019 AFP