League of Legends European Championship partner Rogue has announced the creation of Ultraliga, a new competitive brand that will participate in the Polish League of Legends system.
Looking to compete in EU Masters, a European League of Legends tournament for teams from all over the European continent, Rogue is one of many esports organizations wanting to have a bigger presence in Europe and to establish a deeper connection to a specific area in the region.
Excel Esports has made efforts to tie itself to the UK by opening a training facility within the Twickenham Stadium. Splyce recently rebranded themselves to MAD Lions going into LEC 2020, hoping to appeal to Spanish esports fans throughout Europe and beyond.
Riot Games’ head of publishing Wiktor Cegla recently shared some statistics about League of Legends’ growing popularity in Europe. He stated that League of Legends is the most popular game in Poland, with 50% of PC players in the country playing the MOBA. As the scene continues to grow, esports organizations are looking to tap into the emerging market.
League of Legends fans are hoping that the continued interest in European esports will have the LEC Spring or Summer Finals held in Poland, as it was in 2016. They are also wondering if there will be more live events and esports venues popping up in Katowice in general, including IEM tournaments.
“With two EU Masters Finals held in Katowice, it shows that people here are willing to watch League live. Fingers crossed,” one Reddit user posted.
Rogue wants to beef up presence in Poland as LEC teams dig into Europe
Cegla has already confirmed that League of Legends is looking to get the game’s community more involved by having a bigger presence in events outside of those run by Riot. This includes a huge cosplay competition at Pyrkon, Poland’s largest gaming convention, in May 2020. Champion and skin designers from Riot will be there as judges.
Rogue’s Ultraliga brand was formed in partnership with a Polish team known as x-kom AGO. AGO ROGUE will be managed by Rogue, along with career development of team members. x-kom AGO will deal with the team’s living and training arrangements in Warsaw, along with the team’s marketing strategy. This could include products and marketing that revolve around Puma, a sportswear brand that x-kom AGO partnered with in April 2019.
“X-kom AGO has demonstrated that they are a leader in both, the sports aspect and the commercialization of esports club assets,” Rogue managing director Anna Baumann said of the new Academy team. “We are excited to continue our success story with joint forces, developing prodigy players for the international Stage while connecting even closer to our fans in Poland with a dedicated marketing approach.”
