Leading leagues nationwide, Houston’s sports are going digital for another shot at a championship

n this Feb. 18, 2017, photo, Teams compete against each other playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive during the Dreamhack Masters e-sports tournament at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. A permanent 15,000 square-foot e-sports facility is scheduled to open in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

When you think of the NBA, League of Legends probably isn’t the first thing coming to mind for many Houstonians.

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But the multimillion-dollar e-sports scene is reportedly attracting some heavy-hitters from around the world.

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According to ESPN, the Rockets are just one of three NBA teams looking to take a stake in Riot Games’ upcoming League of Legends Championship Series, and the final team to round out the 10 groups competing.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors are also reportedly paying up for a buy-in to the upcoming tournament.

Texas Rangers’ co-owner Neil Leibman is further believed to be financing another e-sports brand OpTic Gaming, who will be competing in the championships, as well.

Organizers say millions of dollars will change hands as part of its tournament, with the buy-ins running each new team $13 million – $8 million of it due up front.

$5 million of this is said to be going to “league operations,” with the rest going into a compensation pool for North American teams who didn’t make it back in to the league.

According to ESPN, re-entering teams will pay $10 million per entry.

The Rockets recently appointed a director of e-sports to seek out opportunities for the team, and reportedly declined a spot in the Overwatch League in favor of the League of Legends tournament.

Applications are still being finalized, but the 10 teams ultimately competing in the League of Legends Championships are already known to be selected, though a spokesperson from the league declined to comment on individual applications:

“Out of respect for teams still in the application process and mutual NDAs (nondisclosure agreements), we’re not able to comment on any individual applications for the NA LCS,” the league provided in a statement. “We’ll be announcing the full lineup in mid-November once the process has concluded and look forward to sharing more details then.”

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