The Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC), covering the Nordics and the UK, announced on Nov. 17 that it will be transferring its operation license from Freaks 4U Gaming to Danish organization Leagues.gg for the 2024 season.
Throughout 2023, Leagues.gg has increasingly managed the operations and executions of the NLC as the endemic tournament operator of the league. Once Riot Games approves the license transfer, the NLC will officially be under their complete control. Previous managers of the league, Freaks 4U Gaming, were based in Germany, so the move is expected to bring all elements of the NLC into the same geographic region.
Leagues.gg is a Copenhagen-based tournament organizer that has been running regional League of Legends and Counter-Strike tournaments since 2017. They also provide tournament hosting support alongside their own leagues, making the company more community-orientated in Northern Europe compared to their predecessor.
Freaks 4U Gaming has only had control of the license since 2021, but the transfer comes at a time of rapid change and evolution in the European regional League of Legends ecosystem. Previously a championship with six divisions, the NLC has now been reduced to two main divisions, focusing on the highest tiers of Northern European talent.
Over the past two years, several prominent academy teams including UK organization Excel Esports’ JDEX and Danish organization Astralis’ Astralis Talent left the NLC. Reasons include Riot Games’ decision to remove the league’s accreditation. Many hope that refining the league will help it recover from the loss of investment, and some blame Freaks 4U Gaming for these issues entirely.
For lower divisions, teams must now compete in smaller regional tournaments, such as the UK Esports League (UKEL), which returned in July 2023. This league covers the UK and Ireland and is also licensed by Riot Games to Leagues.gg.
Departing from the NLC continues Freaks 4U Gaming’s trend of leaving regional league management this year. Due to changes in ESL’s regional leagues in Counter-Strike, Freaks 4U Gaming also lost its license to run Germany’s ESL Meisterschaft. The Esports Advocate has reported that in 2023 the organization has been facing financial difficulties, alongside many other companies in what has been a challenging year for esports and gaming.
Qualification for the 2024 NLC season begins on Nov. 20, with regional teams competing to earn a place in Division Two. It is the final NLC tournament before Leagues.gg begins taking over the league’s license for the next season.
