With Riot Games franchising the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) from the 2021 season onwards, many teams made moves to increase their commercial viability for the South Korean domestic league. Notably, existing LCK team T1 signed popular Twitch streamer Tyler “Tyler1” Steinkamp as a content creator. However, an unexpected challenger was found during the application process.
Enter Norway’s Omaken Sports, an organization founded by Norwegian Minecraft YouTuber Joachim “Noobwork” Haraldsen. While the team currently does not have a League of Legends division, with only a PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds roster, it applied for entry into the LCK with endorsement from Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg.
In a letter to Riot Games, Solberg requested for Omaken Sports to receive entry into the LCK. Solberg also wrote about Norway and South Korea’s strong bilateral relations and “the great potential of esports.” The veracity of the letter, which was obtained by Norwegian publication PressFire, was verified by the Norwegian Office of the Prime Minister.
Solberg and her administration have maintained a strong connection with gaming, with the Norwegian government launching their gaming industry and culture strategy in 2019. The Prime Minister also opened the gaming house of esports organization N47, which was owned by Noobwork before becoming defunct. Solberg has been spotted in the past playing Pokemon GO before official state meetings.
While Omaken Sports’ bid ultimately failed, it is interesting to see how competitive LCK franchising became. American organizations NRG and FaZe Clan submitted their own applications to Riot Korea to enter the South Korean domestic league which were denied as well. Riot have confirmed the ten preferred partners for the league: Afreeca Freecs, Brion Esports, DAMWON Gaming, DRX, Gen. G, Hanwha Life Esports, KT Rolster, Sandbox Gaming, T1, and Team Dynamics.
League of Legends is available on PC.
Source: PressFire (link is in Norwegian)
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