Oceanic League of Legends circuit returns with revamped LCO format

The League of Legends Circuit Oceania (LCO) has been announced, which will replace the Oceanic Pro League as the top-tier LoL tournament in the region.

Unveiled by ESL and Guinevere Capital, the LCO is a new eight-team League of Legends tournament circuit which spans over eight weeks of competition.

The LCO kicks off on 23rd February, and will see the region’s best teams face off against each other twice over the course of five weeks. Once the regular season has concluded, the bottom three teams will be eliminated.

The remaining teams will advance to a double elimination bracket playoffs, which take place on 30-31st March and 6-7th April. The finals will take place on 10th April, where they’ll crown the inaugural LCO champions who will also secure a place at the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI).

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Peter Du, LCO League manager and senior project manager at ESL Australia, said: “Raise your koalas, because competitive Oceanic League of Legends is back. We’re excited to build up the LCO and create the strongest and most entertaining League of Legends competition that the region has ever seen.

“This is a new opportunity for Oceanic League of Legends talent to step up and begin their pathway to the world stage, while playing in the sort of competition that every LoL esports fan wants to watch.”

LCO 2021 teams

• Order
• Pentanet
• Chiefs
• Dire Wolves
• Legacy
• Mammoth
• Avant
• Gravitas

This follows the shut down of the Oceanic Pro League (OPL) back in October after four years, with Riot officials at the time stating they “do not believe the market is currently able to support the league in its most current form”. 

LCO matches will be streamed on their official Twitch channel, with the official broadcast team set to be announced in the coming weeks.