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At the 2024 League of Legends World Championship in Berlin, Cecilia Ciocchetti set out to find and speak with the next generation of League of Legends fans. During the Swiss stage, she met a family whose love for the game spanned generations, giving her a unique insight into how the game can cross generations within families.
During the two weeks I’ve spent at Worlds 2024 in Berlin’s Riot Games Arena, I’ve only noticed a couple of significantly younger fans, with most attendees in their early to late 20s. It surprised me as I could clearly see a contrast with the time I visited the Arena during the 2024 VCT EMEA Summer Finals just a few months earlier, where many younger fans excitedly supported their favourite Valorant teams.
But the other day, as I was sitting in the fan area of the Arena, I bumped into 41-year-old Sophia Wonneberger and her 11-year-old son Andrew, who were making their way to the venue. I asked if I could speak to them and they kindly agreed.
As we began talking, it quickly became clear that my initial assumption—that Andrew was the reason the two were in the Arena—was completely wrong. To my surprise, it was Sophia who was the most devoted League fan and player.
Of course I had started the conversation by asking Andrew when he first heard of League, expecting the usual answer from someone that young—friends at school, maybe some streamer— but that was not the case. He said the first time he saw the game was when his parents and older brother, 14-year-old James, were playing. Sophia smiled and added that they have been playing for a long time.
Then, she casually dropped one of the most jaw-dropping stories I’ve ever heard.
‘I was actually pregnant with my first child, and my husband and I were playing League when my waters broke. But then we said, ‘let’s finish the game first’. We won – then we went to the hospital.’
Sophia Wonneberger
It turns out that James, Andrew’s older brother, has been a League player from day one, quite literally.
Sophia then went on to explain that they were visiting from the US, and that they flew to Berlin not just to see Worlds, but to tour the city as well. I asked if they were among the lucky ones to get their hands on some tickets for the Worlds 2024 finals in London, but Sophia pointed out that it was their last day here because school was starting for the kids in just a few days.
They visited the fan area, took pictures and bought some merch, but were disappointed as they were unable to secure tickets.
I’d been in Berlin for two weeks covering the event, and the trip to the arena, located on the outskirts of Berlin, wasn’t easy even for me. I couldn’t imagine the effort they’d gone through coming here from another continent, hoping to get into the Arena despite not being able to clutch some tickets.
Sophia said their family had also been to Riot’s studio in Los Angeles a few times and at Worlds 2022 in Atlanta.
We shifted the conversation to which team they were supporting, and of course, it was North American side Team Liquid, who were playing against GAM Esports in an elimination match later that day.
I asked Andrew about his favourite moment from Worlds and while he said he couldn’t remember all the specifics, he did remember watching Faker play, which was “pretty cool” — can’t we all relate?
Thinking about how we just celebrated over a decade of Faker, and his 100th Worlds win recently as T1 beat G2 at Worlds 2024, I asked Andrew what his first game of League was.
He said he was around eight years old and played Garen. I asked if the Demacian was still his favourite, and he shook his head, telling me Cho’Gath was his favourite League of Legends champion now.
Sophia laughed, sharing that their dog is even named Cho’Gath.
“But he’s actually really tiny and a picky eater,” added the young boy.
I pointed out that Andrew must really like playing in the top lane and asked about which member of their family fills each role on the Rift. As every great leader in a group, Sophia plays mid; checking in on everyone is their dad, 39-year-old Tom, who plays jungle; with main character energy James handles the bot lane. And their uncle plays support.
I was starting to see just how deep the Wonneberger family’s love for the game went—it wasn’t just a hobby, it was a family affair, which made me curious about Sophia’s perspective on gaming and esports as a parent.
I asked her how it felt introducing her kids to League of Legends — given that usually the kids are the ones introducing video games to the parents. Or at least that was the case for my generation and the ones before me. She smiled and said it wasn’t difficult at all.
“My husband and I grew up playing video games,” she said, “so it was something we wanted to share with our kids. We just told them to mute everyone in-game so they wouldn’t deal with the toxic chat. Now it’s become a fun way for us to spend time together.”
Sophia and Tom initially met while playing World of Warcraft, and used their WoW characters as cake toppings at their wedding. They also had a wedding in the game!
I told Sophia how impressive it was to see a family so involved in gaming, League and its esports at such a deep level, mentioning how Riot has been focusing on fostering the next generation of players and fans.
Sophia said:
‘Actually, I was rather hoping my older one would want to try to play for an academy team. He liked [the idea], but he has other interests now that he’s older. And so it’s hard to guide him to potentially do this professionally when he’s older. But I would rather him make that decision on his own than try to push him.’
Sophia
She shared that more schools, like Georgia Tech, where her son plans to go, are offering scholarships for esports, and she’s excited to see how mainstream it’s becoming.
Sophia also mentioned how, when attending Worlds in Europe in 2019, she met Caps’ parents.
As many know, Caps’ dad, Michael, is a bit of a legend in the European League community—with fans often looking for him to ask for autographs or even selfies. I, like many, can attest to his kindness.
Sophia also spoke fondly of the pro player’s parents, highlighting how amazing it was to see them being so supportive, which made her think about how she and her husband might one day support their own kids if they chose to pursue a similar path in esports.
I turned back to Andrew, asking what he thought about esports. “I think they’re pretty awesome. They’re just really fun and I think it’s a cool way to express yourself. I like playing video games a lot.”
I asked: “What would you want to say to kids your age who like video games and esports?”
“Maybe just follow your dreams and just believe that you can do what you want. And if you want to become somebody that does esports, then just try. It’s hard but there’s always a possibility,” said the 11-year-old.
I was so impressed by Andrew and Sophia’s understanding of the challenges that come with pursuing a career in esports—not just the need to be exceptionally good but the sacrifices involved.
We turned our attention back to the match between Fnatic and Weibo Gaming, though Sophia and Andrew were more focused on the upcoming Team Liquid match. I asked if they knew it was elimination day and that TL might be going home after the match, and they knew. Sophia seemed hopeful, saying she had high expectations for TL, but also shared that their family has Vietnamese roots, so no matter who won between TL and GAM, “we’re kind of winning either way,” she concluded.
But before being TL fans, the family were big Cloud9 fans, especially parents Sophia and Tom, who were sad to see C9 miss Worlds this year after following the team for so long.
‘Follow your dreams and just believe that you can do what you want. And if you want to become somebody that does esports, then just try. It’s hard but there’s always a possibility.’
Andrew, 11
As we continued chatting, Sophia reminisced about how much League has changed over the years. She remembered when the game had two top, two bot, and one mid laner, with no jungle role. I’ve been playing for over a decade, but even I was not on the Rift when that was the normality. We laughed about it and kept on talking about how much the game has evolved since then, with new champions, graphics, monsters and strategies constantly changing the landscape of the game and its esport.
Before long, their time was up, and as I saw them off, I noticed dad Tom and older brother James were waiting outside. We chatted a little more, but I had to head back inside — I thought that was the end of their time at the Arena in Berlin, but it wasn’t.
Later, after waiting outside in the cold Berlin weather with other hopeful fans, the family finally managed to get back into the Arena. They were able to grab four tickets and watch TL pull off an incredible comeback against GAM, who had won the first game of the best-of-three match.
I then remembered Andrew mentioned how much he likes watching teams come back from a tough spot and thought he must have had a good time.
Meeting Sophia, Andrew and their Wonneberger family was one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had at Worlds this year.
In all the interviews I’ve done with people in the League ecosystem—players, coaches, musicians, producers—I had never met a family so connected to the game.
Hi, I’m Cecilia! A freelance writer mainly focusing on League of Legends and its esports scenes. Find me at events interviewing anyone who has a story to tell, from players to the talented people working behind the scenes. Do you also have a story to share? Reach out to me via Twitter.
