What is the price of fandom? For fans attending the League of Legends World Championship in China, it includes fighting for tickets, paying scalpers and enduring security. Here's the best of what we heard on the ground.
"I had to use a computer program in order to buy tickets when they were released online. Otherwise, I'd have to pay over a thousand yuan to scalpers to get in." --fan
"My friend lost 1,500 yuan [about $230] because she bought a fake ticket from a scalper. I had to pay 1,800 yuan [$300] for mine. Luckily, it was real." --fan
"In a good month I can make 6,000-7,000 yuan [about $1000]. In a bad month, maybe 2,000 [about $300]. It beats going to work." --scalper
"Everything I earned yesterday I'm losing today. The teams are bad today." --scalper
"I applied to be a security guard because I couldn't afford a ticket. This way you can watch the games -- and get paid 100 yuan [about $16] a day." --security guard, 21
"I got into this event through a WeChat group recruiting security guards." --security guard, 16
"Many Koreans today." --scalper
"These fans are really pooping a lot today." --janitor
"What's the point of taking a photo if you're not going to get my [WE] tattoo in? Give me the phone. I'll take it." --Team WE fan
"Why did god make you this tall if you're not going to write your message higher [on the fan wall]?" --fan
"I'm still drawing my sign. Can you call me back?" --fan, 8
"No one knows what they're doing." --fan
"These guards are just looking for a reason to annoy us." --fan
"I don't have tickets. Just bring him in with you and then you go out." --security guard on the phone
"I feel lucky I'm a student overseas in America. I was able to secure a ticket without an issue. Woke up at 10 a.m., pressed a button and there it was. No way I would've been able to do that if I were in China." --fan
"In 100 people, maybe one or two people can get tickets online at best." --fan
These quotes have been translated from Mandarin.
