Posted in: Games, League of Legends, Riot Games, Video Games | Tagged: but I don't know. And I'm probably not the only one to wonder. Drawing this story made me realize that supporting the people that actually act is already a step... at least I hope so! And most importa, eSports, League of Legends, Oceanic League Of Legends, OPL, Riot Games

Oceanic League Of Legends Will Return To Competition In 2021

Not more than two months after Riot Games had dissolved the (OPL), it has been announced the Oceanic League Of Legends will return in 2021. Back in October, the company announced they had closed their offices in Sydney and dissolved the OPL after saying " the OPL has not met our goals for the league, and we do not believe that the market is currently able to support the league in its current form." This was probably a hard choice for the company to make as COVID-19 hindered expansion in the market. Now it appears the ESL and Guinevere Capital will push forward with a new league designed in collaboration with the eight existing organizations in the Oceania region. 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. This is good news for Australia and New Zealand, who basically had teams with nowhere to go and no one else to play, and no room in the APAC regions. What the new league will be called is anyone's guess, but don't expect the old OPL to return. Here's a few quotes from the announcement.

"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"

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