Oceania gets its first League of Legends eSports League

League of Legends 2 Slide

Riot has today announced Oceania's first League of Legends eSports league. Appropriately titled the Oceanic Pro League (OPL), the seven week league will pit eight teams against one another for the hefty sum of $64,000, or $32,000 per split. Five teams will emerge victorious, with the remaining three facing relegation.

It's good news for Southern Hemisphere dwellers, and you won't have to wait: the first round kicks off tonight at 6pm AEST, with a stream running on Riot's dedicated Oceania channel. Tonight's round will feature Legacy, Chiefs, 4Not and Sudden Fear. Here's the full round schedule:

ROUND 1 SCHEDULE

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Thursday February 5Matchup
6pm AEDTChiefs vs Legacy
7pm approx.4Not vs Legacy
8pm approx.Chiefs vs Sudden Fear
9pm approx.Sudden Fear vs 4Not
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Monday February 9Matchup
6pm AEDTAvant Garde vs Dire Wolves
7pm approx.Rich Gang vs Avant Garde
8pm approx.Dire Wolves vs Team Immunity
9pm approx.Team Immunity vs Rich Gang

Riot Oceania eSports Co-ordinator Ben de Rider said he hopes Australia and New Zealand will compete next to some of the world's biggest League of Legends regions eventually. Whatever the case, the winners of the OPL split 1 will head to Turkey for the International Wildcard Invitation this April.

Shaun Prescott

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.