ESL Gaming and Guinevere Capital announced a new partnership that will see a new competitive league for Oceanic League of Legends operate in 2021. After a year of success in competitive Oceanic League of Legends, which saw an impressive Worlds run by Legacy Esports, and multiple Oceanic players move to pursue international opportunities, the league will offer new opportunities for existing League of Legends players and teams from around the region to compete.
Designed in collaboration with the 8 existing professional League of Legends esports organizations in Oceania, the league will be operated by ESL and Guinevere Capital with fans able to look forward to regular broadcasts of their favourite teams on the rift. Riot Games will be providing a three-year license to ESL and Guinevere Capital to operate the competitions with an extension option for a further three years.
“From running the first official tournaments on the Oceanic servers to helping produce the OPL Finals at the Melbourne Esports Open, the ESL team have always had competitive League of Legends in our DNA, so when the opportunity to build a new league, and create new opportunities for League of Legends players in Oceania presented itself, we jumped on it.” said Nick Vanzetti, ESL SVP Asia-Pacific Japan. “”We’re excited for what’s in store for the competitive Oceanic LoL ecosystem in 2021, and look forward to working with the team at Guinevere and Riot to create something that fans and competitors alike can be proud of.”
“OPL was our first step into esports back in 2016 through a team investment and despite having moved on to be involved in other regions, titles and projects since, we have always been parochial supporters of the OCE scene and LoL in particular. Our philosophy has been based around developing young talent and there are many examples of players, coaches and casters from this region becoming globally relevant” said Dave Harris, Guinevere Capital’s Managing Director. “We genuinely believe this new league can be a case study for elsewhere in the world with the freedom to innovate and build a sustainable esports model in what is still an emerging region”
“From a team’s perspective, as a group, we are excited to be working with ESL and Guinevere Capital to develop a new league for LoL Esports fans in Oceania.” said Sean Callanan, owner of Gravitas, “All 8 teams are committed to continuing to develop a strong ecosystem for all involved. We look forward to renewing rivalries on Summoner’s Rift.”
More information about the league will be shared in early 2021.
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