Before Riot Games could launch League of Legends as an esport in late 2012, they needed a rulebook. The task fell to its newly hired senior manager of esports, Chris Hopper, who joined the company after working as a financial consultant. He asked coworkers about other gaming bylaws he could use as examples. They replied, “Good luck.”
Hopper, who’s best known in the gaming world as “Chopper,” was charting new territory in esports but not completely without any model. He download the rulebooks for about 40 traditional sports, everything from FIFA and the NBA to UFC, Formula One, cricket, poker, and the Olympics.