The Oceanic Pro League is officially set to close its doors ahead of the 2021 season, Riot Games Oceania confirmed on October 7.
“Today we are announcing the dissolution of the OPL and the closure of Riot’s Sydney office, as it primarily focused on operating the league,” the governing body said in an October 7 press release on lolesports.com.
Riot Games Oceania has been based in an office complex in Pyrmont for the past few years, though most operations have been run from household residences since the beginning of the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown in Australia.
The announcement also comes with confirmation all Oceanic players will now be exempt from the League of Legends Championship Series import rule, effective immediately. This includes all future players from the region.
“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,” the closing Riot Games Oceania office wrote in their final release.
“This will open up new opportunities in North America for top OPL players.”
The Oceanic Pro League may no longer operate in its split-by-split basis, but Riot Games has revealed new players for qualifying tournaments, to “ensure teams from the region continue to be represented at our two global events.”
Snowball Esports has not yet been able to confirm what these events may look like, but sources within the LoL scene are suggesting ESL Australia will look to take over management of the events from 2021 onwards.
ESL Australia declined to comment when approached by Snowball Esports.
The Pro League was contested by Legacy Esports, Order, Pentanet.GG, Chiefs Esports Club, Dire Wolves, Avant Gaming, Mammoth, and Gravitas. The future of these competitive esports organisations within the League of Legends scene is no longer clear.
This is a breaking story, and is being updated…
