What is the UPL? Everything you need to know

Nicholas James Published 02/10/2021

The Unified Premier League, previously known as the Upsurge Premier League, is an amateur, academy, and collegiate competition in League of Legends. It pits some of the top academy rosters against amateur teams to further develop North America’s talent pool. Unified Esports provides the main venue for collegiate and academy mixed play in North America, and the UPL is just that.

UPL is the designation for Unified Esports’ central league system for League of Legends. Much like traditional professional play, UPL is run in seasonal rounds. However, unlike the LCS’ splits, UPL’s competitions happen more than once a year. Most recently, it launched its fall competition, the largest UPL has ever organized.

While academy rosters for LCS teams may be notably absent from the list of teams, this isn’t meant to be like the Proving Grounds competitions that Riot Games hosts. The UPL is intended to specifically highlight collegiate and amateur talent. With players from past powerhouses like Maryville University and two teams from Winthrop University, there’s no lack of hungry rookies. Watching the UPL can be a great way for League fans to relax and enjoy some bloody games.

The gameplay might not be as precise or perfectly coordinated as on the highest professional stages, but it’s concentrated and action-packed League of Legends.

Alongside its professionally oriented leagues, Unified Esports also host community leagues. If you’re feeling like assembling four of your friends and taking to the rift to do battle against other competitively-minded folks, there are few better ways to do it than with Unified. The fall season also allows you to get to know up and coming stars in North America like Jake “Mabud” Riley revealing the origins of his in-game moniker.

If you’re itching for some good old brawls before Worlds begins in earnest, tune into the UPL to see everything it offers.

Nicholas James

About Nicholas James

Nicholas James is a gaming writer with a passion for all things geekdom, as well as live theater. Nicholas is best known for covering League of Legends and other top MOBA titles, but his expertise covers numerous games across multiple genres. When not watching the LCS or playing the latest new release, Nicholas can be found doing some tabletop gaming and painting his favorite miniatures. Nicholas has also published with Hotspawn, TheGamer, Dexerto, Esports.gg and other industry outlets.

View full profile

Read Also

Esports Betting

HLE vs T1: Best Betting Odds and Picks for LCK 2026 Playoffs Hannan Mundia HLE and T1 will duke it out in the 2026 LCK Playoffs lower bracket final, but which team has a better chance of facing Gen.G in the grand final? This year’s LCK season has been filled with ups and downs. In particular, the top three teams have constantly struggled against each other, but Gen.G managed to get ahead of the fray in the end. Now, HLE and T1 will face ...

Esports Betting

Bet Tips and Predictions For Team Vitality vs MKOI LEC Summer Playoffs Ben Boland The LEC playoffs are well underway, and we have Team Vitality taking on MKOI in a do-or-die series. Lose here, and your chances of qualifying for Worlds 2026 go up in smoke. With Vitality getting dismantled by G2 Esports in their opening series, it begs the question whether it was just the G2 playoffs magic, or Vitality are not the team we thought they were. Let’s take a look at ...

Esports Betting

LCS Playoffs Round 1 Best Bets: Will C9 Falter? Ben Boland The LCS Summer regular season has finally come to a close and six teams will now do battle over the next few weeks with the hope of representing their region at the 2026 League of Legends World Championship. The first round of playoffs is expected to set the tone for what is to be an exciting conclusion to the return of the LCS. Cloud9 and Shopify do battle once again, ...

Esports Betting

The Best LCS Summer Split Week 7 Odds: Upsets On The Horizon? Ben Boland The LoL betting world is in for a treat this weekend as the LCS Summer Split regular season enters its final week. Everything is to play for, from the battle for first place to who starts life in the upper bracket. Esports betting sites are unsurprisingly covering the games extensively, and here my tips to bet on for each LCS match this weekend. This is a series that could go ...

League of Legends

LEC Playoffs Round 1 Betting Tips: G2 vs Vitality & Karmine Corp vs GIANTX Ben Boland The 2026 LEC Summer Playoffs are finally here in the world of LoL betting. After weeks of regular-season action, the battle to get to Worlds 2026 is heating up. Team Vitality, G2 Esports, GiantX, and Karmine Corp start their playoff run in the upper bracket. Both sets of matches have a lot of betting potential, with some decent value to be found. Here are some of the best bets to ...

League of Legends

Caps Hall of Legends skins prices and dates revealed Hannan Mundia Caps is the latest League of Legends player to be inducted into the Hall of Legends, and the LEC player’s dedicated skins have been revealed, including their prices and release dates. The Hall of Legends is Riot Games’ way to honor a handful of the most well-known and celebrated professional players associated with LoL. The first inductee was naturally Faker, while the second was Uzi. The third player is Caps, ...

League of Legends

Five Support Champions To Pick Up in LoL Patch 26.17 Ben Boland The support meta in League of Legends is one of the most highly discussed roles in the game right now. With Riot doubling down on the roaming support playstyle, we will likely see more champions added to the pool around the time of Worlds 2026, which begins on 15 October. At the time of writing this article, the current patch, 26.17, is being tested on the PBE, with the launch ...