Professional League Of Legends Returns To Oceania As Riot Announces The LCO
All good things eventually rise again! As Riot announced today, Oceanic professional League of Legends makes a return with the League of Legends Circuit Oceania (LCO). According to a press statement, tournament organiser ESL and investment firm Guinevere Capital have partnered up to create the eight-team-strong league which will start as soon as February 23rd spanning eight weeks and 19 playdays. The eight teams making up the LCO are ORDER, Pentanet, Chiefs Esports Club, Dire Wolves, LEGACY, MAMMOTH, Avant Gaming and Gravitas.
Click to enlargeLCO Format
The LCO will be held in a double round-robin format, meaning all teams will have to play each other twice over the course of the first five weeks of the season. Once those games are done, the three teams at the bottom are eliminated from the competition and the top five teams will move on to a double elimination playoff bracket which will take place on March 30th to March 31st and April sixth to seventh, culminating in the final on April tenth. Most excitingly, the winner of the competition will receive a spot at the famed Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), an international event that pits the best teams in the world out of each region against each other.
The matches will be broadcast live from ESL's Sydney studio and will give Oceanic talent their chance to shine and present this highly underrated region. Just last October, the Oceanic Pro League (OPL) had closed down after five years of operation, giving especially the Australian audience the blues. As a result of the closure, Riot Games had allowed Oceanic players to count as domestic talent in regards to the import slot rule, giving Oceanic players a helping hand in the transfer market. Whether or not this ruling will be maintained with the LCO in place is currently unknown. If it was to be maintained, the LCO could be an exciting developmental league to follow for North American League of Legends fans who want to see the birth of future star players live in action.
"Raise your koalas, because competitive Oceanic League of Legends is back. We’re excited to build up the LCO and create the strongest and most entertaining League of Legends competition that the region has ever seen" said LCO League Manager Peter Du in the press release, a message which should help reignite new regional hope in the Oceanic community.
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Images via LCO & Riot Games
