The landscape of Polish League of Legends esports is undergoing a significant transformation — GAM3RS_X, backed by popular Polish streamer Damian “Nervarien” Ziaja, is set to take over as the tournament organizer for Poland’s ERL (European Regional League). This marks the end of a six-year era where the league was managed by Frenzy under the Ultraliga banner.
2025 will herald not only a new chapter for Polish League of Legends but also the start of a new three-year ERL cycle, with several other ERLs such as the Arabian League and the Turkish Championship League (TCL) also transitioning to new tournament organizers.
A Brief History of Polish League of Legends Tournaments
Before 2018, Poland’s competitive League of Legends scene operated as an open circuit — various companies, including Fantasyexpo and ESL, hosted their own tournaments. In 2018, with the Riot introducing the right to bid for ERL organizing rights, Frenzy secured the rights to organize the Polish ERL, starting with the inaugural season of Ultraliga in January 2019. Fantasyexpo, the parent company of GAM3RS_X, had participated in that bid but ultimately lost.
At its inception, Ultraliga was among the strongest and most popular ERLs, even hosting AGO Rogue, an academy team for a prominent LEC organization. When AGO Rogue won the EU Masters in Summer 2020 — and promoted several players to the LEC — the league's prestige peaked. However, as organizations like AGO Rogue exited and financial struggles plagued the remaining teams, the Ultraliga’s competitiveness waned. Regions like the LFL and Superliga, boasting higher viewership and stronger rosters, began to attract the best players from Europe and Poland.
In recent years, the Ultraliga struggled to maintain its status as a top ERL. However, the most recent bid, held earlier this year, saw GAM3RS_X emerge victorious, bringing their ambitious new project, Rift Legends, to life.
Rift Legends: A Bold New Direction
Rift Legends, set to debut in January 2025, aims to revolutionize the Polish ERL experience. Led by Nervarien, a beloved figure in the Polish League of Legends community, the new league promises innovation, community engagement, and a renewed focus on local talent development:
League Structure
- Invited Teams: The top six teams from the 2024 Ultraliga have been invited, but details must still be finalized.
- Open Qualifiers: Two additional teams will join via open qualifiers, ensuring new blood can always enter the competition.
- Three Splits a Year: Like other ERLs, Rift Legends will operate across Winter, Spring, and Summer splits.
- Relegation and Grassroots: The team finishing last in each split will be relegated, with open qualifiers offering a path back to the top of Polish LoL. While there will be no official second division, Rift Legends plans to collaborate with grassroots leagues to support emerging talent.
Gameplay Innovations
- Best-of-Three Format: Matches will be played as best-of-threes.
- Fearless Mode: Once a champion is picked, it cannot be selected by either team for the rest of the series, encouraging diverse strategies.
Player and Community Focus
- Increased LTR Requirement: The minimum number of locally trained players (LTR) per team has been raised from two to three, reinforcing the league’s commitment to nurturing Polish talent.
- Streaming Freedom: Teams and players will be allowed to stream matches, including player POVs, mirroring rules seen in other ERLs like the NLC.
- Open Broadcast Model: Nervarien’s channel will host the main broadcast, but co-streaming will be welcomed to broaden the league’s reach.
Nervarien’s Vision
Nervarien, a prominent streamer and former caster, has expressed his deep passion for League of Legends and his hopes for Rift Legends to elevate the Polish scene:
“League of Legends is very important to me. I've been playing LoL for 15 years, streaming for 10, and I got into esports back in Season 1. In seasons 5 through 8, I became a caster. At its peak, my streams were watched by 50,000 people at the same time during the G2 Esports vs RNG match.
I would like to see the Polish League of Legends scene grow. I hope that Rift Legends teams and players will achieve success in Europe.”
Building for the Future
Hoping to build a fanbase by interacting closely with the community, Rift Legends is hoping to host three in-person events anually — while completely decided, it could be incerdibly beneficial for local fandom. GAM3RS_X are already experienced with organizing in-person events following their five fan-favorite "Meet at Rift" events.
Meet at Rift LAN, picture taken during a Q&A with Jankos on the main stage
Teams like B2TG, Zero Tenacity, and Forsaken are already assembling strong rosters for the inaugural season. With GAM3RS_X at the helm and Nervarien as the face of the project, Rift Legends hopes to redefine Polish League of Legends esports.
As the league kicks off its first season in January, all eyes in Poland will be on Rift Legends to see how it shapes the future of one of Europe’s most dynamic regional leagues.
