Hear the lion’s roar: the Belgian and Dutch Leagues awaken!

Greetings fellow summoners,

4Entertainment is happy to announce that it has been appointed by Riot to launch and operate the official League of Legends leagues in both the Netherlands and Belgium. To achieve this, both regions’ tournament structure will be completely overhauled and improved. For a full overview of what is planned, which teams can join and when things will start, please visit the websites for the Belgian League and the Dutch League.

We strongly believe in the power and future of esports in the Benelux and 4Entertainment has made it a mission to continuously invest and improve the ecosystem from the ground up. International esports is taking off at an incredible pace and we want to bring our talented region, with incredible players, teams, casters and other talent, to the forefront. There is still a lot of untapped potential in the Benelux, we want to continue developing local esports, backed by Riot Games and its incredible experience.

Together, we will build a new ecosystem for Benelux League of Legends players to nurture and grow their talents and for fans to call home. The first step is to launch two national leagues, both representing the Benelux region.

With Riot’s support, we will select teams from each country to compete in a year-long national league that will have two splits and an all-encompassing national final. There is a €7,500 cash prize pool for each split and the winner will also qualify for the European Masters play-ins. After both splits are finished, we will host a country final with an additional €10,000 cash prize pool to play for. This means that the Dutch and Belgian leagues will each have a €25,000 cash prize pool.

The first season of both leagues will feature 6 teams, but we are planning to grow that number to 10 in the next seasons. Selecting the right teams and players is essential to help kickstart the competition and stability has always been lacking in the Benelux community. A year-long competition should help provide a stable tournament circuit, but we will also help the teams and players with workshops, regular meetings and other initiatives.

The local scene can only develop in unison with the teams, the players and the fans, which is why the selection process will be open to anyone, allowing for everyone to apply for their spot in the national leagues. Every application will be analysed alongside Riot Games’ expert insights, which should pave the way for the first six teams to compete in the first season off the national League of Legends leagues.

We realize that there are more than six teams in the region and that is why we will collaborate with Riot to create an Open Tour for everyone that did not make it in the leagues’ first season. The Open Tour will consist of a series of tournaments throughout the season with their own cash prize pool (+ €10,000 in total). The Open Tour will also serve as a way for teams to demonstrate their stability and their long-term focus. The Open Tour will factually be the breeding grounds for teams to prepare themselves for the national league in the upcoming seasons. More detailed information on the Open Tour will follow soon.

With both leagues and the Open Tour, our main goal is to help bring the Benelux region to the next level and to provide a stable framework. Even though we are very excited about what the future has to bring, we are fully aware that we need the full support of the teams, players and fans and that is why we hope to see all of you come together in the next few months and to make the first season of the Belgian and Dutch League of Legends leagues a resounding success.

To reach out to us, please use one of the channels below:
Website: https://belgianleague.lol/
Email:
Twitter: @lolesportsbe
Discord: https://discord.gg/PRWz8CE
Contact: Davy ‘DAVY’ Sysmans