Just two months after Riot Games Sydney closed the Oceanic Pro League, ESL Australia has announced they will be hosting a professional League of Legends scene in Oceania together in partnership with Guinevere Capital. They haven't finalized the details of their operations but will announce more at the beginning of 2021. 

According to the report by Dot Esports, ESL will have an 8-team Oceanic League starting in 2021. ESL and Guinevere Capital were given a three-year operating license for the league, taking them through 2023, but they also have an option for a three-year extension, meaning they could operate through 2026. 

The Riot Games operated OPL ran from 2015 through 2020, and was closed due to not meeting goals set by Riot Sydney. In response, the North American League of Legends region opened up residency to include OCE players as non-imports, allowing those players move to NA without penalty. Since then, several NA teams have added on former OCE stars, like Cloud9 and Immortals. 

ESL is a tournament organizer in many other games, especially CS:GO and Dota 2, and is a strong candidate for operating a League of Legends league. Guinevere Capital is "is an advisory and investment firm focused on the high growth segments of the sports industry." They have already worked in esports in the past across multiple teams, most specifically Dire Wolves, a former OPL team, and one that represented the region many times internationally. 

Few details were provided upon their announcement, but stay tuned here and on the ESL Twitter account for updates in the coming weeks as we move closer to the League of Legends Spring Season.

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