Photo by Tom Wheatley on Unsplash
With the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational heading to East London in May – the birthplace of TV show Eastenders, grime music, the Olympic Park and even yours truly – we’ve put together an MSI 2023 visitors guide.
This guide aims to detail how to get around, things to do in the area, places to eat and how to understand local slang, innit man.
MSI 2023 key info – where, when and how to get there
The event will take place at the Copper Box Arena, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, E20 3HB between May 2nd and 21st 2023. Some tickets to MSI 2023 are still available here.
Kicking off our MSI 2023 visitors guide, the nearest overground train station to the venue is Hackney Wick, and the nearest underground station is Stratford. The nearest airport is London City Airport, followed by London Stansted Airport, Gatwick Airport and Heathrow Airport.
Beware of train strikes. This will affect travel on Friday May 12th during MSI and there’s a strike planned on May 13th too apparently:
Also, if you’re using the underground for the first time, don’t be afraid to ask train staff or passers by for advice, directions or help understanding the map.
Oh, and when using an escalator and you want to stand, keep to the right. In London, the left part is generally for people walking up or down an escalator, or those in a rush.
The Copper Box is a different venue to League of Legends esports’ last big event in the UK, the Worlds 2015 quarter finals, which took place at Wembley Arena.
The Copper Box Arena has been home to several esports events over the years, including the Rocket League Spring Major 2022, the Apex Legends Spit 1 ALGS London LAN earlier this year (pictured above), as well as other events in Clash Royale, Call of Duty and more.
Also, broadcast talent and content creator Geo gave some good advice around contactless cards for travelling. You can read more about contactless and mobile pay as you go on the Transport For London website here.
Things to do and places to eat in East London during MSI 2023
There is plenty to do in East London in between the League of Legends action. Streamer B0mberrr lists a few places close to the Copperbox venue in this MSI 2023 visitors guide, and to help educate Ashley Kang, whose blasphemous views riled up British LoL fans on Twitter!
- Crate Brewery – Right next to the arena, by the canal. Great pizzas and local craft beers. If its sunny, this is my favourite bar in London
- Randys wing bar – further down the canal, decent wings and grub, good beers, by the canal and next to other bars. Good choice
- Four Quarters Hackney – a cool gaming bar with retro arcades
- Draughts Hackney – a little further away but I’m sure the esports folks will like this, it’s a quality board game cafe/bar
- Stratford Westfield – big shopping centre, with a food hall area featuring all kinds of international cuisine, plus a huge restaurant/bar street outside it too
- Olympic Park walks – Copper Bar is literally on the walk
- West Ham stadium tours – this is the local Premier League football club. In terms of a watching a live football match, West Ham play Alkmaar on May 11th, I think that’s a good chance to get tickets since season ticket holders have to apply for it
- Playing football: I play footie on a pick up site. There is a quality 11 a side pitch right next to the arena. Games are under a tenner, think it’s worth mentioning this as it’s easy to sign up and get a spot
UK caster Initialise also had a nice Twitter thread of recommendations in response to Kang’s slander here, and Ruddy Esports owner and caster DonJake recommended Morleys, PFC and Chicken Cottage.
Frankie Ward also recommended some places to visit in our TikTok interview with her:
What about things to do in Greater London?
There’s way too much to list in this article, but Dom Sacco name-drops a few he recommends.
- A boat trip on the Thames
- The London Dungeon
- Arsenal FC Stadium Tour
- The London Eye
- Tower of London
- Harry Potter Warner Bros studio tour
- Visit Chinatown and grab something tasty to eat
- Have a gander around Camden Market
- See a Shakespeare play at the Globe Theatre
- Watch a West End theatre show or musical – the Back to the Future Musical is great (scott)!
- Tate art gallery
- Museum of London
- Visit an esports or gaming bar in London
If you’re watching TV, I recommend you try watching Eastenders once. It’s a classic British TV soap set in the area where MSI is taking place.
East London is also the home of grime music – ‘Pow’ by Lethal B is one example of a popular grime track. You might be able to find some local artists to watch live by looking around online.
In terms of things to eat, why not try a full english breakfast, fish and chips, roast dinner, Nandos, Maccy Ds (McDonalds), or whatever you like. This isn’t very healthy, I know, and I’m sure people out there will have much healthier options!
Next up in our MSI 2023 visitors guide, give Greggs or Subway a go for fast lunch, or try a pub (a place where you can socialise that sells alcoholic drinks and food). You have to try some English tea with milk (or milk alternative) too! As demonstrated by PSG and Talon Esports below.
In the UK (and especially London) we have a nice multicultural mix of restaurants. There are tons to try – personally I’m a fan of Chinese, Indian, Italian and Turkish restaurants here.
Excel Esports MSI finals viewing party
Basic MSI 2023 visitors guide to some UK phrases, social behaviour and East London slang
Us Brits are an odd bunch – we engage in idle chit chat about the weather, say sorry a lot and love drinking tea.
We’re a footballing nation, we’re the home of Harry Potter, the BBC and our Royal Family.
We’re a sarcastic bunch with some wicked humour, charm and can be pretty reserved.
There’s too much to say in one article, but we’ll include a few phrases and things to give you a quick overview.
Regions and the UK vs Britain: The UK consists of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It’s worth noting that Ireland is not a part of the UK.
However, Great Britain is slightly different. Great Britain is the collective name of England, Scotland and Wales and their associated islands. It does not include Northern Ireland.
Greetings: Alright, hello, hey, hi, hiya, how’s it going, sup, good morning/afternoon/evening, what’s up?
Saying goodbye: Bye, see you, see ya, see you later/catch you later, laters, see you soon, mind how you go, ta ta, take care, cheerio, goodnight, (if on the phone you can also say ‘talk to you later’ or ‘talk to you soon’). Some of us also say bye more than once when talking on the phone.
Saying thank you: Thanks, cheers, ta, I appreciate it, thanks so much/very much
Saying sorry: We say this a lot as Brits and it’s hard to explain why. You can say it in other situations, for example, if you bump into someone accidentally, or when someone is in your way and you need to get past them quickly, or you can also say ‘excuse me’ for this too. You can see a great example of Mad Lions head coach Mac apologising profusely here, like a true Brit.
21 other phrases and advice
- Alright / aite – it’s a way of saying hello to friends, but you kind of have to raise your tone when saying it, otherwise it sounds weird. There are more examples of British greetings here
- Blud – brother/friend. As one site put it, ‘an informal address to a male’
- Bruv – friend
- Cockney – this is an old school way of pronouncing things and using rhyming slang phrases to describe situations. For example, ‘apples and pears’ means ‘stairs’, and ‘dog and bone’ means ‘phone’. ‘Barney’ means ‘trouble’ (it’s a play on ‘Barney Rubble’, but you don’t say ‘Rubble’), and ‘you’re having a Steffi Graf’ means ‘you’re having a laugh’)
- Cheers = this is a way to say thank you, or to express good wishes before drinking or ending a conversation
- Dench: Cool/good
- Fam – friend
- Innit = isn’t it?
- Isit = is it?
- Mate – friend / term of endearment e.g. ‘Hello mate’
- Quid – one pound (currency). Also, £20 is a score, a tenner is ten pounds, a fiver is five pounds and a monkey is £500. ‘Dosh’ and ‘dough’ and ‘wonga’ are also ways to describe money
- Chav – “a young person of a type characterised by coarse and brash behaviour” (as demonstrated by Sjokz below!)
@g2esports England is my city 🇬🇧 #tiktoktraditions #msi2023 #sjokz #hanssama #leagueoflegends #vedius #mtotheb #bellapoarch ♬ original sound – G2 Esports
- Roadman – some say similar to a chav, others say it’s a ‘is a fashion and cultural categorisation that need not have anything to do with gangs, drug use or petty crime’
- Skint – poor / low on money
- Loo – toilet/bathroom
- Ends – area or neighbourhood a person comes from
- Lush – nice
- Bare – really
- Mandem – male group of friends
- Safe – good/cool
- Ting – thing
There are so many others, so you can give these guides a try:
- A Very Funny and Quick Guide to London Slang
- Peng Tings: A Cheeky A-Z of Roadman Slang
- 20 of the Most Common British Slang Words
Special guest alternative MSI 2023 visitors guide to London
A UK League personality got inspired by our idea for a guide and they’re putting together their own alternative MSI 2023 visitors guide in video form over the next week or so. Check back again soon!
Which esports organisations are in London and the UK?
We have some well-known esports orgs based in London, including Fnatic, Excel Esports and Guild Esports.
The UK has a bunch of other orgs, including the likes of Endpoint, London Royal Ravens, London Spitfire, Method, MNM Gaming, Resolve, Vexed, Wolves, Quadrant and Into the Breach to name a few.
Looking at League of Legends, the UK has produced some fantastic broadcast talent (including those in the MSI 2023 broadcast talent line-up) such as Frankie Ward, Yinsu Collins, Caedrel, Munchables, Vedius, Medic and more.
The UK has also produced LoL players like Alphari and xMatty. But to be honest, we’re generally better at playing console games and other titles like Call of Duty, Rocket League, Fortnite, FIFA, sim racing and fighting games than we are the likes of League of Legends.
In terms of tournament and event organisers, we have Insomnia Gaming Festival here, Epic.LAN, and plenty of businesses have UK offices like Twitch, Blast, Faceit, Gfinity and more.
We hope you enjoyed our brief MSI 2023 Visitors Guide! For even more great advice, check out Gregan’s local guide for the RLCS Major also at the Copperbox from last year here. And if you think we should add something else to our guide, please DM Esports News UK on Twitter.
Esports News UK MSI 2023 Coverage Powered by SideQuest Gamers Hub
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
