A large amount of players and viewers probably don’t realize that Riot Games has set up a professional-style tournament for League of Legends (LoL) for people like you and me. University League of Legends (uLoL) is a program organized by Riot Games and student clubs on college and university campuses across the US and Canada.
uLoL gives players of all skill levels and gaming backgrounds a chance to get together and experience the multiple aspects of LoL that many love. From allowing a college team to partake in their uLoL tournament against other schools—like UVic, UBC, or the University of Washington—to simply supporting the club in gatherings to watch competitive LoL and making friends you might not have met otherwise, this program really provides what I think is a great breeding ground for talent.
This is one of the only tournaments in which we here on the west coast have a strong presence. UBC has won back-to-back titles the past few years in Riot’s uLoL Campus Series. One player that UBC has cultivated—Bob “BobqinXD” Qin—was the mid lane player for UBC’s team. Qin is now getting paid to play for eUNITED, a team in the North American Challenger Series, which is basically the precursor league all teams have to go through to make it to professional status and the premier league. In addition, he’s had the opportunity to travel to places like South Korea to hone his skill.
The real question is this: when will someone at Camosun take up the task of getting our own uLoL team together? Camosun, like any other post-secondary institution, is eligible for participation so long as we have a structured club in place. For anyone who has dreamed of making their way to professional play, this could provide you with the chance to reach your dream.