PATH TO PRO – the Esports Balkan League secures an official partnership with Riot in the European Regional Leagues!
With Europe's incredible expanse as a region, comes alongside a thriving community fueling its League of Legends competitive scene. From Austria to the UK, Europe has quite a pool of talented players under its belt waiting to find their place in the spotlight.
Here, stands the Balkan region and its own competitive LoL championship - the Esports Balkan League (EBL) run by Fortuna Esports, as it finally achieves recognition and support from Riot Games as it merges into the European Regional League circuit this Spring of 2018.
The Esports Balkan League is the premier esports tournament within the region of Balkan, with the largest prize pool hosted at €120,000 across CS:GO and League of Legends. The tournament league seeks to propel the growth of esports within the region and provide the region a platform to be able to prove itself on the international stage.
The EBL includes host teams from the following countries:
- Serbia
- Croatia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Slovenia
- Montenegro
- Macedonia
- Bulgaria
- Hungary
- Romania
- Greece
- Albania
- Cyprus
In its League of Legends tournament bracket, eight participanting teams from the aforementioned countries will be competing in a round-robin format in the regular season. Afterwards, the four teams with the highest standings will advance to the semi-finals proceeding to a grand final to determine the champion of the Balkans. On the other hand, the bottom two at the regular season standing will face relegation.
In EBL's first season, KlikTech took home the €10,000 championship prize as they turned the season's standings on its head with a 3-1 win upset against Greek Regenesis earlier this month.
Greek Genesis did an impeccable 7-0 run in the regular season, beating the then to-be champions KlitkTech, giving them their sole loss throughout the bracket. However, KlikTech picked it up in the playoffs driving it home with a clean 2-0 win in the semifinals and, eventually, their hard-earned 3-1 win against Greek Regenesis in the finals.
From its humbe beginnings, the Balkan region's budding esports industry previously faced a number of challenges in its road to becoming a veritable ecosystem wherein competition and player growth could thrive.
Fortuna Esports lead the charge in the EBL's run to being a regional success, developing sustainability and professionalism over the course of a year and a half from its inception. Aleksandar “Snghai” Anoki?, Head of Esports at Fortuna Esports, expressed his team's sentiments in regards to the announcement that the EBL has secured a slot in the upcoming European Cup:
"Our wish to be on par with European esport trends and give our players an opportunity to prove themselves on the international stage has finally came true."
Snghai followed by thanking everyone who was a part of the journey in bringing the industry to another level denoting,
"It is an incredible feeling achieving something you have been working on for the last year and a half."
Now, as a newly-recognized affiliate of the LoL European Regional Leagues, the EBL continues its sights in developing local players and teams towards competition at the highest-level. With this affiliation, the Balkans are now given the opportunity to join and represent their own in the pan-regional European Cup tournament for prize money (and glory) set to take place during the spring (April) and summer (September) seasons.
Check out Fortuna Esports' announcement report here:
Images courtesy of the Esports Balkan League under Fortuna Esports.
