Many esports organizations have tried it, and many have failed. Why is it so hard to create a local esports league for casual, amateur, and aspiring gamers?
If you’re like 99% of gamers, you aren’t one of the top 1%. Which means you probably aren’t winning many of the local esports tournaments hosted throughout Las Vegas. That’s because the top 1% are also the most active gamers, and you can expect they’re going to be at that local tournament you’re planning on attending next week.
And you’re going to get rekt.
So what’s the solution? How do you create a league that allows players of all skill levels to compete, without discouraging the 99%? We’ve seen venues imploy all kinds of tactics, desperate to avoid scaring off casual gamers. Some have even banned the top teams from competing altogether (surely not the best approach).
Enter Super League
Super League, as they’ve described themselves, is “the IRL esports competition you’ve been waiting for”. With 16 established “gaming clubs” across the US, players can participate in a variety of game titles and skill levels – from social events to national battles. No matter what your skill level, Super League has a gaming experience for all.
And as you might have guessed, one of those “gaming clubs” is right here in Las Vegas. Currently they’re focussed on their “City Champs” events, exclusively for League of Legends and Minecraft.
They recently released a promo video for Season 3 of their League of Legends League (shown above). If you prefer to read, here’s the transcription:
From diamond and bronze, jungler to mid lane, or chain to assassin, super league wants to challenge you to play like a pro in city champs. Here’s how it works.
City champs is a national tournament featuring 16 rival cities. Each city is represented by a club, these clubs compete head-to-head for the title of city champs. Prior to the tournament players are sorted by skill level and compete in an online qualifier phase to determine the club rosters. Players who make their clubs are assigned to a role and are placed on one of 12 teams labeled “A” through “L”. Each team is comprised of five starters and two alternates, the city champs competition can be broken down into five sections.
After the online qualifiers, you will meet at a designated gaming arena in your city to face off against another club. Every matchday all 12 teams on your club will play two 5v5 games. When teams win games, they earn points for their club. Teams placed in a higher skill tier earn more points for their club. At the end of the match, the club with the most points wins.
Meet your club on practice day, don’t take this event lightly as this is your best opportunity to familiarize yourself with your gaming arena, the city champs hud, and most importantly, your teammates. On practice day, you’ll receive your official jersey, your club badge, and compete in two scrims to prepare for divisional play. All 16 clubs are evenly organized into four divisions. Divisional play is a three-match round-robin elimination tournament, where you and your club will face off against three other clubs within your division. The first place club from each division will move on to the semifinals.
Semifinals turns up the heat, pitting two divisional champions in one elimination match. The two clubs that make it past semifinals will enter the grand final. The grand final is the last match of the season and is the source of origin stories, unlikely triumphs, and savage victories. One club will stand above the rest to be crowned city champs. The biggest prizes are given to the top clubs. If your club’s overall ranking is in the top four, you are guaranteed to take home a prize. Your spot on a club doesn’t come easy, you must earn your place during the online qualifiers.
You’ll be judged primarily on win ratio. Qualifiers are held online over a seven day period in 3-hour windows. Your League of Legends ranking will be used to determine your place in one of the four skill tiers, where you’ll stay for the entirety of City champs season 3. The dashboard on superleague.com will guide you throughout the qualifiers, providing you tournament codes, queue times, role selection, and access the leader boards.
In order for you to be eligible for a starting lineup, you must complete in at least eight matches and any chosen role. In order for you to be eligible as an alternate player, you must complete in at least eight matches in any chosen role and at least one match in every role. If you make the club roster, you’ll be assigned to a role and a team. Even if you don’t make the club, you are still eligible for prizes for participating in the online qualifiers. Upon completion of your first qualifier match, you’ll receive a mystery seminar icon for your account. When you complete at least eight qualifier matches you’ll receive RP for your account.
In order to participate in season three, you must own a laptop that meets our requirements, have a level 30 League of Legends account, with at least 20 champions. Live in proximity to one of our 16 Club locations, and finally, you must purchase a $20 ticket at superleague.com. City champs has been crafted to be a fair fun and competitive tournament for all skill levels. You don’t need to be a pro to play like one.
But I Don’t Play League of Legends…
This year, Super League Gaming intends to launch additional titles, providing esports experiences for gamers across a variety of titles. They ask that you stay tuned for future announcements.
I Play League of Legends! How Do I Join?
If you’re interested in participating in Super League, you must sign up on their website before this week to enter the Online Qualifiers on March 11.
Super League was kind enough to provide a promo code for our readers (you). Get $5 off the entrance fee with promo code LOCAL5 when signing up!
What Las Vegas Needs Right Now
As promoters of the Las Vegas esports scene, we couldn’t be more excited about this concept. If we’re going to grow the esports scene in Vegas, we can’t merely cater to the top 1% of gamers. We need funding, and support, which means we need to grow the community. Tapping into this unexplored market of casual, amateur, and aspiring gamers who have largely been left out in the cold could be what our city needs to become the esports capital of the world.
That being said, I anticipate some of you reading this right now are part of that 1%. Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about you. Without you, there would be no esports scene. But just like Major League Baseball needs the minor leagues, we need something like Super League to continue growing.
Calling All Gamers in Vegas
You guys continue to impress us with your support of the local esports scene. Last week, after we released our article on the upcoming Esports Arena at Luxor, we were flooded with responses from communities eager to host events with ESALasVegas. If you believe Leagues like Super League Gaming will help grow our local scene, let’s show them some love! (Super League’s Facebook)