Up and coming UK eSports organisation ManaLight has allegedly hit a stumbling block regarding its plans to form a UK-based pro League of Legends team.
It seems the org is no longer interested in picking up such a team, due to the ‘unstable’ and ‘unprofessional’ nature of the UK League scene, which is known for its regular roster swaps, players being subbed in and other issues (check out these comments from FM-eSports support player Tundra for more).
After we posted our initial rumour story about ManaLight looking for a UK League team last month, the org posted this update on Reddit, confirming its intention to create a top-class LoL team.
ManaLight also outlined its ambitions to reach the EU Challenger Series and hopefully the EU LCS, but recognised “it is a marathon, not a sprint”.
But sources have told us that while ManaLight still looking for a top League of Legends team, the organisation is not sure it’s going to find one from the UK.
eSports News UK understands ManaLight wants to see contracted, experienced pros playing in UK tournaments with a higher ability level across the board, not just from a handful of pros.
It’s rumoured that a few UK pros approached ManaLight following its initial announcements around League of Legends, but wasn’t able to find a full team it was happy with.
However, with an improved infrastructure and a better talent pool to choose from, perhaps ManaLight will change its mind about the UK scene in the future, or find a team from outside the UK.
We were unable to get comment from ManaLight on the matter.
The news comes as ManaLight parts ways with Heartstone pro Harald “Powder” Gimre.
“We want to make it very clear that this is mutual decision for both parties allowing Harald to pursue other opportunities,” ManaLight’s Louis Corps said in a statement. “We will look to revamp the team with up and coming talent.”
ManaLight recently bolstered its Hearthstone team with the addition of Alexander “Raven” Baguley.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
