The ALGS Championship made me fall in love with esports

Generally speaking, I’m not much of an esports person. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy seeing players pull off wild feats in video games, and you can often find me watching record-winning speedrun compilations on YouTube. I love playing video games, and love watching others play them, too. But for as long as I can remember, the idea of buying overpriced team merch and expensive tickets just to spend hours watching people use computers intensely was a concept I found baffling. But after spending a week in Sapporo, Japan for the Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) Year 5 Championship, I can safely say I get it now.