Riot Games will no longer be organizing the Oceanic Pro League in Australia and New-Zealand. The League of Legends developer announced the news yesterday, which sparked a lot of discussion on the side of the players and talent.
An official statement appeared on lolesports.com which talks about Riot Games’ reasons to discontinue the OPL and how they’ll move forward from now on. According to Malte Wagener, the managing director, discontinuing the OPL is not the end of League of Legends esports in Oceania. “We remain committed to supporting our pro players in the region with a path to continue their careers moving forward.”
An update about the future of the Oceanic Pro League (OPL) – https://t.co/K5t271nP9R pic.twitter.com/sT9VRyKDnZ
— Oceanic Pro League (@OPL) October 7, 2020
The solution of Riot Games is integrating players (and teams) from Oceania in the North American League, the LCS. “Beginning with the 2021 season, we are adding OCE to the competitive territory for the LCS, so OCE players will no longer take an import slot on LCS rosters. This will open up new opportunities in North America for top OPL players. We will also hold qualifying tournaments in OCE for both MSI and Worlds in 2021, ensuring teams from the region will continue to be represented at our two major global events next season.”
As to the reason for abandoning the OPL, Riot Games says it didn’t meet the expected resutls. “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”.
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