The campaign led by Riot Games and Amazon Web Services pledged almost half a million dollars to Water.org for every killed Ocean Drake in Worlds 2023.
League of Legends’ popularity cannot be understated. More than a decade since its release, Riot’s multiplayer online battle royale has not only grown its playerbase, but the peak viewership of its biggest annual esports tournament – nicknamed “Worlds”. Overtime, the Worlds grand final has consistently broken records with millions of views each year, so Riot decided to harness the tournament’s reach for a good cause.
This season, Riot partnered up with Amazon Web Services to not only bring innovative tech to the casters desk, but to also start a water charity campaign in tandem with Worlds 2023. Aptly named “Take The Drake for Water’s Sake”, the initiative’s goal was to expand safe water access by donating to Water.org each time an Ocean Drake – a high-value objective in LoL – was secured.
Take The Drake for Water’s Sake
After wondering for months, we finally have the figures of Riot’s latest charity collaboration, and that total comes up to a massive $350,000. That’s a big chunk of change, but that’s not all we know. On the official report, the Ocean Drake dead pool tallied 70 dragons slain, which meant that both Riot and AWS donated $5,000 for each kill! You love to see big game companies using their influence for positive change.
The last Ocean Drake of the 2023 World Championship was felled by Weibo Gaming’s Wei “Weiwei” Bo-Han in Game 2. Watch the clip below!
Water.org is a global non-profit that offers affordable loans for water sanitation. According to Riot, the campaign set out to help 70,000+ people living in poverty worldwide. This partnership was perfect for the campaign, given that Water.org supports programs in many third-world countries including Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Tanzania and Uganda.
Another charity events held by Riot was Spike Nations 2022, a Valorant tournament that had 12 teams from European, Middle Eastern, and African (EMEA) regions duking it out for a charity of their choice. Consisting of pro-players and streamers alike, Spike Nations 2022 raised a total of €60,000 in its showmatches. The effort was in partnership with Twitch and BLAST.tv, which organized the event.
Esports charity collaborations create opportunities for big game companies like Riot to reach more audiences while funding major humanitarian efforts. Incorporating charity into big-ticket events helps promote the game, which generates even more charity, so I for one am excited to see what Riot thinks of next time when the 2024 World Championship heads to London.
Another fantastic season of pro-League of Legends esports has come to a close. In the Worlds 2023 grand final, T1 finally broke their 6-year long curse and claimed their fourth Summoner’s Cup after a commanding series over their opponents Weibo Gaming. Read about how it all went down in our Weibo Gaming vs T1 recap.
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