Casting the finals of the League of Legends Worlds tournament is the biggest honor you can receive as a League of Legends caster. This year that honor will go to none other than Chris “PapaSmithy” Smith, Clayton “CaptainFlower” Raines, and Sam “Kobe” Hartman-Kenzler. All 3 casters have announced the fact that they are casting the Worlds finals on Twitter earlier today after they were asked by Riot to do so.
It won’t feel real till I’m at Incheon Munhak Stadium on Saturday but I’m pleased to announce that I’ve been selected by @RiotGames to cast the League of Legends #Worlds2018
Final!Fnatic vs. Invictus Gaming in a Best of 5 will be my first World Final cast
— Chris Smith (@PapaSmithy) October 30, 2018
I’ve been given the opportunity to be on the casting team for the biggest League of Legends match of the year: Fnatic vs IG at the Finals in Incheon!@PapaSmithy, @RiotKobe, and I will take on this momentous occasion together; see you all in Korea for the games!#Worlds2018
— Clayton Raines (@CaptainFlowers) October 31, 2018
This will be the most important finals I have ever cast. 2018 has been an amazing year and I am extremely happy I get to end it with my friends @CaptainFlowers and @PapaSmithy
The best western team of all time @FNATIC vs @invgaming a team older than the LPL itself!#Worlds2018
— Sam Hartman-Kenzler (@RiotKobe) October 31, 2018
For both CaptainFlowers and PapaSmithy this will be the first Worlds finals that they will be allowed to cast. For PapaSmithy it’s an extra honor as he’s the first LCK caster to ever cast a League of Legends Worlds final and it will even be in Incheon, Korea. Overall the three are generally well-liked and respected casters. PapaSmithy has always been respected for his dedication to the game since he was casting 5 days a week at one point. CaptainFlowers is probably the biggest play-by-play hype caster that we have and Kobe has been with League for so long that it would actually feel empty without him.
Sadly there weren’t any European casters that were available to cast although it’s the first time since season 1 that there’s a European team in the finals. The reason is that Quickshot had to go home due to a family emergency and Deficio had already planned to stop after the semifinals. Nevertheless, there’s not a doubt in my mind that the casting team will do a fantastic job.
Riot has also confirmed that Vitality’s coach, YamatoCannon, will be present on the analyst desk. I also expect to see Froskurinn on the desk as the LPL representative and Dash as he always knows how to keep the desk under control. The finals will take place this Saturday and please check the official schedule to find out what time it starts in your timezone.
