Yi Mino , executive producer of esports at Riot Games , speaks during an interview with The Korea Herald at the headquarters in Seoul , on Monday . ( Park Hyun - koo / The Korea Herald ) When Yi Mino came to Riot Games three years ago as the executive producer for esports broadcasts , he was without a broadcast team and the LoL Park Arena in Jongno , central Seoul , had yet to finish construction . With the opening of LoL Park Arena , Riot Games wanted to start self - production of League of Legends Champions Korea ( LCK ) , like other regions in the globe . Yi , who worked at terrestrial broadcaster MBC producing sports programs for 12 years and drama series for three years , was the man Riot Games was looking for to make it happen . Yi took the offer , feeling his long experience in production and his interest in gaming could make for a great fit . “ For the first year I was alone and had to assemble the production team . I was more of a technical supervisor than a producer as the arena was being set up . It wasn ’ t easy but it was a good experience , ” said Yi . “ Also , I watched a lot of LoL Championship Series in the beginning for reference , ” he said , referring to the similar North American league . Many MBC producers who liked gaming monitored OGN , a cable channel that focuses on games , and that is what led to his interest in game producing , Yi recalled . “ My friend was a producer at OGN , and I even worked part time there . I watched almost all of OGN ’ s programs and always thought they were superb . Their computer graphics were great while production and storytelling were stellar , ” Yi said . “ I still watch OGN sometimes . ” While Yi thinks that production for traditional sports and esports is largely similar , he feels the biggest difference is the nature of the audience . “ In traditional sports , just because I watch a triathlon doesn ’ t mean I do it . In esports , the audience members are mostly players , ” said Yi . “ Other producers of games say in interviews that using easier subtitles to make the game easier to understand to attract a larger audience is needed . I think that is closer to being a wrong answer . Many viewers of esports have a good understanding of the game so greater depth and direction in the production are needed . ” That Riot Games has the entire intellectual property for LoL was one of the biggest reasons for Yi ’ s jump to esports production . “ We are ESPN , NBA and basketball itself since we are Riot Games , LoL and LoL production . I think having all three allows for quick and efficient decision - making and we have access to limitless resources . We can develop things that we need , and we can use the raw data , ” said Yi . With the data , Yi hopes the LCK will be the first to implement artificial intelligence like AlphaGo to LoL matches in the future , showing an analyzed win percentage of teams similar to how Go is broadcast . Many fans criticized Riot Games for the lack of quality when it took over LCK production from OGN starting with the 2019 Spring Split . However , Yi responded quickly with changes to design and fast - paced production for 2020 . In addition , he managed to host the LCK online this spring amid the spread of COVID - 19 , reaching the highest number of viewers for a season with 4 . 6 million viewers on average per day . Looking ahead , Yi expressed his determination for 2020 LCK Summer starting on June 17 . “ We have fewer people in the broadcast team than other leagues , but I think the quality of our broadcasts is better . Our wish is that LCK returns to being the best league , but even before that happens , I hope we at least hear that our broadcast is the best , ” he said . By Lim Jang - won ( ljw @ heraldcorp . com ) [ 네이버 에서 코리아 헤럴드 구독 ] ▶ KH Podcast    ▶ KH Video <ⓒ KoreaHerald ( www . koreaherald . com ) 무단 전재 및 재 배포 금지 >