Award-winning fantasy author Brandon Sanderson and his company Dragonsteel are entering the world of League of Legends with a one-of-a-kind partnership, sponsoring Maryville University’s North American Challengers League team.
It’s no secret that the tier-two division of League in North America has been hit with a lot of negativity over the past year. Players, analysts, and fans have noted that the LCS’s Academy failures could mean no more NA pros and that the lack of viewership for the NACL could mean no more support and no future for NA’s tier-two. However, that all might change with the announcement by Maryville University on X (formerly Twitter) on June 3, where the org unveiled the bold new partnership between Brandon Sanderson’s company, Dragonsteel, and the university’s NACL team.
While we’re still awaiting full details of this partnership and what it entails, one thing’s certain—this was not a partnership entered on a whim; Travis Gafford revealed in his announcement video on YouTube on June 3 that Riot wanted to help “facilitate partnerships between cool companies and teams competing in the NACL.”
The League publishers have certainly made that happen with this partnership because, let’s face it, who’s cooler than Brandon Sanderson? No one. But I’m a book nerd, so I’m biased. Thankfully, I’m not the only one—League fans are already dubbing the news the “very best unexpected crossover” and demanding Dragonsteel jerseys to show support.
Surprisingly, this is just one of the two new NACL partnerships announced on June 3 as part of the new NACL partnership model Riot implemented in the midseason break. Starforge Systems, the custom PC company, has also partnered with the NACL team, Cincinnati Fear, in the hopes of elevating the team’s presence to new heights.
If you’re excited to see these teams in action, you won’t have to wait long. LoL Esports announced the NACL 2024 Summer teams and dates this week, with play kicking off on June 15, just before the 2024 LCS Summer campaign.
So, if you’ve never watched an NACL game, now is definitely the time.