UKEL Update
A few months ago, Riot announced their planned changes to the NLC and the move to a new TO. We’ve been rather quiet on our social channels since then whilst we’ve been plotting and scheming as to where we go next and whether or not we should even continue the UKEL. Well, I’m happy that we can finally break that silence and give everyone an update on where we are, what we’ve been up to, and where we’re heading as we move into 2022.
NLC Changes and our current LoL League
Lets begin with the recent changes to the NLC. We finally know what the new tournament format will look like- and regardless of your opinion on it, it’ll be exciting to see it grow and develop to hopefully benefit the UK scene. The UKEL has been in talks with both Riot and Freaks4U to see if we would be able to support the new structure of UK League. Above all, we wanted to continue being able to provide grassroots opportunity at the heart of the UK scene.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to provide support to Freaks4U. Format changes have made it so our previous tournament structure is no longer tenable, and as such, in 2022 we will not be providing a broadcast League of Legends league. We’re still in discussions with Riot as to how we can continue to participate in the UK scene, and we will update you all with more information once we have it.
Whilst we won’t be continuing the league, we may run some tournaments in the off seasons. We’re also looking to work with partner organizations to hopefully bring some open house tournaments to the UK.
Alex ‘Synygy’ Winton joins LDNU
As I’m sure most people know by now, Alex joined LDNU at the end of our summer split. We’d like to wish Alex all the best in his new role. The UKEL wouldn’t have been able to grow in the way it has without Alex’s help at the helm, and he’s been one of the core voices in the UK scene from the outset.
Unfortunately, this new role means Alex won’t have the same amount of free time to dedicate to the UKEL. After numerous discussions, he has decided to take a step back from the UKEL- he will however, still be assisting in an advisory role and his knowledge of the scene will continue to be invaluable to us.
We can’t thank him enough and we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do in his new role and where the future takes him.
Looking forward to 2022
Whilst we won’t be disclosing all of the exciting things we have planned for 2022, we can tell you that we have been working away in the background, and we’re almost ready to show you all the fruits of our labour.
What we can confirm for you, is that the UKEL isn’t going anywhere for now. We’ll continue to support the grassroots scene, and we will be moving into some new games and providing new leagues and tournaments for everyone to participate in. Some of these new tournaments will be semi-pro leagues with a fixed structure and a broadcast, much like our previous league. Others will be aimed at amateur and casual play, to allow people to develop their skills and play styles and hopefully move up to the higher tier leagues. Everyone’s got to start somewhere, and we want to be that starting point for the future of UK talent.
To facilitate our growth and to enable us to deliver our plan moving forward, we are looking for some support and some new blood to come and work with our team.
If you’re interested in working with us please click here for more information and to apply.
