Inside the To the Moon Expo League of Legends £50k tournament – the competitor experience
ENUK’s ongoing investigation into the To the Moon Expo has uncovered additional information regarding the marketing and management of the £50,000 League of Legends tournament.
From technology fundamentals to claims of a 4,000-capacity arena, here is the experience of a tournament competitor from the To the Moon esports stage.
Technology trip-ups and network woes – esports tournament fundamentals
As first reported by ENUK in an article summarising community responses after the To the Moon Expo concluded with dissatisfied attendees in its wake, the event’s £50,000 prize pool League of Legends tournament faced significant technological setbacks.
This original report detailed how tournament and expo organisers expected to run all ten competition PCs using a standard WiFi connection rather than Ethernet.
An individual involved in the tournament reached out to ENUK to provide further details on the impact technology had on the event.
When they initially launched League of Legends over a WiFi connection, PCs experienced lag spikes of 180-300 ping. This would mar any competitive integrity, with players unable to play the game in a stable environment.
Allegedly, one of the core expo organisers expressed shock that the WiFi network was not appropriate.
They explained that the organiser had complained that it would cost them extra money to obtain Ethernet cables. Eventually, Ethernet cables were provided to try to rectify the situation.
Alongside this, ENUK was informed that competitors arrived to find headsets with no microphones attached.
ENUK’s source alleges that an expo or venue staff member setting up the tournament asked the competitors whether they were allowed to talk to their teammates during the games. Only when the competitors clarified that this was essential were microphones provided.
These issues led the individual who spoke to ENUK to conclude: “I’m sure they had alright intentions, but they are just amateurs around the board.”
Both claims regarding Ethernet cabling and headset microphones were also relayed to ENUK via a second source.
Since the tournament’s conclusion, the broadcast commentators have been praised for their continued efforts to host the tournament’s livestream, which was also affected by technical issues.
Sized-down staging – the effects of cramped space on competitive integrity
According to ENUK’s source, competitors also faced issues with the tournament’s staging.
In the lead-up to the expo, promotional posts made by official To the Moon Expo channels and the organisers boasted of a “4,000-person IRL esports tournament stage.”
One organiser post on LinkedIn even claimed it would be “one of the largest League of Legends tournaments in the UK” four months before the expo.
This style of expectation-fuelling post was also found across the wider expo promotion, a significant area where To the Moon faltered.
Despite being advertised as a “4,000 capacity stage,” the tournament’s actual stage was a small elevated area with rows of plastic chairs for spectators.
Unfortunately, it was small enough that the competitor claims they could hear their opponents talking. Therefore, teams were unable to adequately discuss in-game strategy and decisions without risking being overheard.
A promotional post on LinkedIn five months before the event also listed that there would be a “special guest appearance by Reed Shannon, the voice of Ekko from Arcane, performing live music at our opening ceremony.”
For League of Legends esports fans, the term “opening ceremony” is more closely associated with Riot Games’ extravagant pre-tournament performances, further heightening expectations for the event and its staging.
Nevertheless, most promises regarding the tournament’s professional standards and staging appear to have been unfulfilled.
To the Moon Expo organisers allegedly place blame for downsizing on competitors
Competitors for To the Moon Expo’s League of Legends tournament were allegedly expected to carry a significant amount of responsibility for ticket sales.
ENUK’s source describes how the expo organisers consistently “hounded” competitors to promote the event and sell tickets using their social media channels. There was no contractual obligation for competitors to carry out said promotion.
Allegedly, the discount codes for tickets provided to competitors were also defunct for a significant period of time.
Therefore, competitors were unable to sell tickets properly, no matter how much effort they put into event promotion.
These discount codes were supposedly only fixed one week before the event.
Meanwhile, little is known regarding when the tournament will actually finish. The accumulation of these challenges led to the Grand Final being moved online, with too many delays to complete the competition in-venue.
Overall, the information provided to Esports News UK fits with the ongoing pattern of high-stakes promises, followed by frustrating downsizing and setbacks.
While a valiant effort was made to bring esports to a UK gaming expo, the tournament’s planning and logistics seemed to cause more harm than good.
ENUK first contacted To the Moon Expo on November 13th for comment. At the time of publishing, they have not responded.
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