Despite being in Europe, today’s League of Legends World Championships finals are between two Korean teams. Riot analyst Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles celebrated the country’s League dominance with a piece of traditional “Hanbok” attire. It’s sparked some bemused and confused reactions.
League of Legends Twitter, which is already an almost incomprehensible hype-train during the lead-up to any Worlds match, made sure to note that Monte definitely seemed to...stand out from his three colleagues on the analyst desk. Some people (such as myself) who didn’t know what exactly he was wearing at first were confused, or thought he might be making some sort of inside joke. Or even wearing a Halloween costume. But experienced League fans who are more familiar with Korean culture and eSports appreciated the gesture:
As this smattering of Twitter responses shows, some fans simply didn’t know what was going on with Monte’s outfit and leapt to conclusions as a result. Riot could’ve done a much better job explaining what Monte was wearing and why he was wearing it, that’s for sure.
If you ask me, it’s cool that Monte tipped his hat to the Korean eSports scene. Though it always looks at least a liiiittle awkward when a white dude dresses up in clothing from another country and culture.
Speaking of the Worlds finals, they’re officially underway! You can watch the SKT vs. KOO Tigers games on YouTube, Twitch, or Azubu. And if you need to catch up at all, check out our Worlds explainer piece.
UPDATE (8:50 am EDT): He took it off:
Stay tuned for further updates about MonteCristo’s wardrobe as the day progresses.
If you have any tips or suggestions for 2015 Worlds coverage, please don’t hesitate to contact me by email at yannick.lejacq@kotaku.com. You can also find me on Twitter at @YannickLeJacq.