After an age of warfare, the superpowers of the land of Valoran have come together to form a governing body that will settle all disputes behind the closed doors of the Institute of War. Their task is a noble one — to lift the impossible weight of bloody war off the shoulders of the world and place it upon a select few — The League of Legends. On the Fields of Justice, legendary Champions forge alliances and resolve their differences in battle arenas. In the League there is one rule that reigns over all else: Winner rules all.

In League of Legends, players take on the role of a persistent Summoner avatar that gazes upon the battlefield from above and influences battles by taking command of a chosen Champion. During each online multiplayer play session, gamers will choose one of dozens of unique Champions wielding diverse skills and abilities, and engage in fast-paced team-oriented combat to bring their foes to ruin. Champions will gain levels, items, and abilities that enable them to slay their opponents and augment the strength of their allies by battling with enemy minions, foul beasts, deadly turrets and enemy Champions. Players also advance their Summoner’s rank and power to gain new abilities and items, assisting their Champions in battle.

League of Legends emphasizes team-oriented gameplay and players must work together in order to defeat the opposing team. Players will be able to communicate easily through in-game lounges and chat rooms, and forums will act as a conversational hub for a wide variety of discussions amongst community members. League of Legends will feature custom-built multiplayer support including matchmaking, stat tracking, clan support, anti-cheat systems, dedicated in-game ladders and Leaverbuster technology. In addition to extensive multiplayer features, League of Legends will include a single-player mode where players can learn how to play and practice new strategies by engaging robust Bot-AI.

Mastercard has expanded its existing, global partnership with Riot Games League of Legends esports into financial services category exclusivity for the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), the preeminent esports series in North America, deepening its relationship with the largest esport in the world and reinforcing its support of the esports community.  Additionally, Mastercard today introduced “Together Start Something Priceless,” a League of Legends community driven content series that will showcase unique stories of League of Legends players around the world.

“This expanded relationship represents the continued growth in popularity of esports as well as the success of the global partnership between Mastercard and Riot Games,” said Cheryl Guerin, executive vice president of North America Marketing & Communications at Mastercard.  “We are also excited through the ‘Together Start Something Priceless’ content series to not only demonstrate our support for this community, but also share some of the great stories and inspiring individuals we have encountered during our partnership.”

As the exclusive financial services category sponsor for the LCS, beginning with this weekend’s Summer Split Finals in Detroit, Mastercard will curate a wide range of Priceless experiences and exclusive cardholder benefits across onsite event activations, viaPriceless.com and through other to-be-announced promotions to bring cardholders closer to their passion and help fans experience what they love about League of Legends competitions. Mastercard will also partner with the platform to integrate payment technology that drives a simple and secure payment experience. This checkout experience arms players with tokenized checkouts masking their card number making every transaction unique for those saving their cards and for those that aren’t, Mastercard will eliminate laborious key entry with Secure Remote Commerce, a simple click to pay check out.

“Mastercard has already proven themselves to be true stewards of the League of Legends community. After launching our partnership last year, including global events and the curation of truly priceless moments at Worlds, we’re thrilled to be expanding the relationship and partnering with Mastercard to deliver additional unique experiences directly to LCS fans in North America,” said Matthew Archambault, Head of Esports Partnerships and Business Development for North America at Riot Games.

“Together Start Something Priceless” Content Series

Mastercard has partnered with MOFILM, a leader in crowdsourcing and social content development, to curate five entertaining and inspiring stories that underscore the brand’s platform “Together Start Something Priceless,” as told by League of Legends players from around the world who are positively impacting the community, leading the way in a trailblazing manner or supporting each other.

Together Mastercard and MOFILM will deliver five films from select markets (United States, Germany, China, France and Brazil) over 6 months. Each story will focus on League of Legend players and their unique stories. Debuting today, the first film tells the story of professional esports competitor Stephen Ellis, a.k.a. Snoopeh, of the United States and how he has married his passion for League of Legends esports with an entrepreneurial spirit to help other players turn their love of the sport into a career.

All films will be unveiled on the new @MastercardNexus channel on Twitter, while Mastercard’s YouTube channel will serve as a library for all the films.

Key components of the new LCS partnership

• Sponsorship of the LCS “Player of the Week Award (POTW),” which will recognize one professional LCS athlete as selected by a committee of commentators and analysts on weekly play and attributes.  As an additional deliverable to the community and viewership, fans will have the ability to vote on who they believe the POTW will be and potentially receive the same token awarded to that athlete. More details to be announced in the near future
• Presenting sponsorship of the LCS Opening Ceremonies in Detroit, featuring enhanced brand visibility, assets, and access including Priceless Experiences for cardholders such as backstage tours, VIP viewing with League of Legends pro players and meet-and-greets with the featured musical acts
• Opportunity to issue co-branded products, featuring esports marks and a variety of League of Legends images, photos and artwork, via Mastercard banking partners, allowing consumers to further integrate their fandom into their everyday lives

For more than two decades, Mastercard has partnered with prominent organizations in sports and entertainment to enable cardholders to further tap into this passion through exclusive access, unique experiences, and one-of-a-kind fan engagement opportunities. LCS is the latest property to join Mastercard’s impressive roster of premier partners, including Major League Baseball, the PGA TOUR®, The Open, The Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Rugby World Cup and UEFA Champions League, among others.

Key Features :

• Play as dozens of unique Champions with diverse skills and abilities while engaging in fast-paced team-oriented combat.
• Compete in a variety of highly stylized and unique handcrafted battle scenarios.
• Create your own persistent Summoner avatar and customize your appearance through achievements that you earn in game.
• Advance your Summoner in rank and power to gain skills and abilities that give you an edge in battle.
• Join clans and teams to compete with other players in tournaments and organized leagues.
• Assemble Legendary items for your Champion by forging together basic items you obtain on the battlefield. Choose from over 200 uniquely crafted items to augment your Champion's power.
• Robust matchmaking and detailed stat tracking help to ensure balanced games for new players and veterans alike.
• Unlock new content through persistent gameplay and mastering the game.
• Integrated Leaverbuster technology helps ensure people stay for the whole game!
• Participate in the creation of League of Legends through our Suggestion Engine the community will have an unprecedented voice in what new content is created and implemented into the game.
  And much, much more...