With the arrival of Riot Games' annual "League of Legends Worlds Championship" in Mexico City, the Latin America Riot team pays tribute to their late employee, Javier España.

Javier España, popularly known as "Riot Maggical" in the e-Sports scene from his gamer tag, recently passed away in May. Pledge Times reports that España died of cardiac arrest at the age of 39.

Riot Games dubbed the late España as the face of Riot for Latin American players, as he has served as a channel and content strategy manager for the company since 2015. Gamers may remember España as an active part of the gaming community on Twitter, helping players with support tickets and account issues.

Riot employee Mariano Vives recalls his experiences working with former colleague España in a tribute recently posted by Riot Games.

"Javi was so passionate, the most passionate of all of us about esports," expressed Vives on the late España. "He was in the middle of our community, he was a pillar in the region for players. He was a great person, he was an excellent dad. He embodied the passion of working in video games every day, he was the best Rioter out there. It was my pleasure to work with him."

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Riot Games Fulfills Javier España's Dream to Hold 'Worlds' in Latin America

Riot Games started its annual "League of Legends Worlds Championship" on September 29, kickstarting the championship in Mexico City, marking the event's first time being held in Latin America, followed by a culmination in San Francisco on November 5.

However, Rioters from the region celebrated with a bittersweet feeling as Worlds is missing the former face of Riot Latin America. According to Juan Moreno, one of España's closest friends during his time at Riot Games, the team dedicated this year's venue to their late colleague.

"Having Worlds in Mexico City, this was his dream. So while he isn't here to see it, we did this for him." Moreno expressed.

España was also initially planned to be the delivery lead for this year's Worlds Championship venue reveal, which was first announced in 2021, according to Upcomer.

What is the 'Worlds 2022 Championship'?

Developers Riot Games organized the "League of Legends Worlds Championship" as an official global tournament, which is hailed as one of the biggest LoL esports annual events. This year marks Riot Games' 12th World championship.

According to One Esports, a total of 24 teams from around the globe are competing for this year's Summoner's Cup championship trophy, with a whopping prize pool of $2 million.

The play-ins stage kickstarted on September 29 to October 4, while the Group Stage ran from October 7-10. After playing out the rest of the tournament, fans are hyped to watch the grand finals on November 5 to watch the clash of T1LoL versus DRX Global.

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Written by: Andi C.