TOP-TIER LEAGUE OF LEGENDS RETURNS TO OCEANIA THANKS TO ESL & GUINEVERE CAPITAL

A top-tier League of Legends league is set to return to Oceania in 2021, thanks to a partnership between ESL Gaming and Guinevere Capital. 

Things weren’t looking so good for LoL down under, after Riot Games pulled the pulled on the Oceanic Pro League (OPL) earlier this year, but now ESL and Guinevere have confirmed they will be acquiring a three-year license to run a League of Legends competition in the region, with an option to extend for a further three years. As with the OPL, the new league will feature eight teams. 

Discussing plans, ESL Senior Vice President, Asia-Pacific Japan, Nick Vanzetti, said:

“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.”

While Managing Director of Guinevere Capital, Dave Harris, added:

“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.

“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.”

AYO.NEWS says:

This is obviously great news for the Oceanic League of Legends community, and it shows that ESL and Guinevere Capital have more faith in the commercial viability of the title in the region than Riot Games had. Whatever happens, things are looking up for the next few years at least. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.