14 DAY TRIAL // All League of Legends competitive players are now considered to be full-time athletes by the United States government and will be issued visas in order to be able to take part in official tournaments.
Nick Allen, who manages the eSports division at developer Riot Games, tells GamesSpot that, "So the United States government recognizes League of Legends pro players as professional athletes and award visas to essentially work in the United States under that title."
Apparently, this is the first time that a video game is accepted as a sport by the United States government and will make it easier for international athletes to compete with native ones.
The developer says that Riot Games and a number of other actors have lobbied the US border authorities for a while in order to get these rights.
League of Legends Season 3 World Championship will start on October 4.