UKLC representatives Resolve and London Esports have bowed out of the League of Legends Telia Masters tournament by slim margins.
The pair qualified for the tournament, which bridges top teams from various European Regional Leagues (ERLs) in the UK and Northern Europe with the higher-tier NLC, after they faced each other in the UKLC Spring 2021 playoff finals (with Resolve winning 3-2).
But what did the UK teams learn from their experiences in the Telia Masters? Megalodontus asks the teams and looks back on their performances.
Resolve: “We’re making some important changes ahead of summer”
Resolve founder Ilias ‘Rai’ Pajoheshfar spoke about Resolve’s run in the Telia Masters and their future plans.
“It’s quite unfortunate that we didn’t manage to get a shot at NLC this split but there were a lot of lessons learned in the process. Overall, I’d say the split was a successful one as we managed to pick up our first UKLC title and reach the Telia Masters.
I think the players were fully capable of taking Telia Masters and promoting to the NLC but we had some internal issues which disrupted that. We’re making some important changes ahead of summer to make sure our next roster has everything they need to succeed.
I think the future of the UK scene is quite an exciting one. There are quite a few exciting prospects and I think we should see more players breaking into the NLC, LFL and other major ERLs soon. With the launch of our academy, we have a clear pathway for UK talent to progress and we’re excited by some of the upcoming talent. We really want the UK to be seen as a major region and for all of our teams and players to grow and be successful.”
Interview: Resolve founder Ilias ‘Rai’ Pajoheshfar on their all-UK LoL roster being ‘hidden OP!’, going undefeated in the UKLC and wanting to be the best team in Europe
London Esports: “It’s a little painful falling at the last hurdle by tiebreak rules, but unfortunately that’s the way it goes sometimes”
London Esports CEO Alfie Wright shared his thoughts on London’s spring adventures and his thoughts on the UK LoL scene.
“I am extremely pleased with our Spring Season. I think at the start of the season, not many people were expecting us to be as strong as we were. Seeing the growth in the players, as well as the results, has been very rewarding!
It’s a little painful falling at the last hurdle by tiebreak rules but unfortunately that is the way it goes sometimes, and I hope the team reflects on it and understand how important every map is in a series. With that being said, I know the team truly tried their hardest, and they can all hold their heads up high.
I think we have also struggled with having a massively available UK talent pool in League of Legends, although it is definitely moving in the right direction. This season we have seen some really talented players, eight of those being involved in UKLC and the Telia Masters.
There were also some really strong players in other teams during the UKLC which is really exciting to see! With the UKEL getting more support, I think we will see so much more talent coming through, including through organisations academy systems. We also cannot forget the UK talent currently playing in the NLC!”
See Esports News UK’s interview with Alfie of London Esports here
Who won the Telia Masters and what’s next?
In the Telia Masters, Norwegian champions Bifrost defeated Swedish champions Galaxy Racer Esports 3-2 in the finals.
This means Bifrost will face UK team MNM Gaming and Galaxy Racer will face Dusty in the upcoming NLC 2021 Spring relegations series, after MNM and Dusty were relegated to this series from the NLC.
Resolve entered the Telia Masters as a team to keep an eye on after their near perfect run to win the UKLC, while London had lower expectations due to the difficulty of their group that had teams like Absolved and Galaxy Racer.
The Telia Masters format changed this year to a single round robin best-of-three format for the group stages.
Elsewhere, the UKLC relegations series will soon commence, featuring relegated sides Demise and Bulldog Esports, and top UKEL teams Viperio and UKEL Spring 2021 winners Lucent Esports.
In the NLC, BT Excel finally broke the curse and defeated Fnatic Rising in the Spring 2021 NLC finals. Both teams now move on to the Spring 2021 European Masters, with Excel slotting into groups while Fnatic have to go through Play-Ins.
How was Resolve’s journey through Group A?
Resolve started off their campaign with a 2-1 win against Nordavind’s academy team, followed by an close 1-2 defeat to Finnish champions NYYRIKKI. But it was their 0-2 loss to Telia Denmark’s second seed Masonic that sealed Resolve’s fate, meaning they could finish third at best in Group A.
Resolve then went on to defeat Hybrid Esports 2-1 and VITA 2-0 to finish their run. This placed them firmly in third place at 3-2.
While Resolve didn’t quite ‘eat the Danish teams for breakfast at Telia Masters’ as caster Hiprain put it, it was a respectable run.
So close yet so far for London Esports
London, perhaps surprisingly, had a more hopeful adventure. They began with a 1-2 loss against Bifrost, but pulled off one of the biggest surprises by defeating Danish champions and tournament favourites Absolved 2-1.
Absolved’s roster consisted of names such as Energy, Reje, Champen and Skude, who have all played in the NLC before.
Things were looking up as London took down Team DeftFox 2-0, but they would then lose 0-2 to Galaxy Racer. This was a heartbreaking loss for London and the UK fans, for this meant no matter how they sliced the cake, London’s journey in the Telia Masters had ended.
London defeated Excess Success 2-0 on the final day, with Absolved falling to Bifrost 2-1. This meant London finished third in Group B, like Resolve did in Group A.
And with that, both teams will be looking to rebuild and climb through the UKLC once again for the privilege to compete in the Summer 2021 Telia Masters.
So close yet so far for London Esports – how did they get on?
The UKLC, UKEL and NLC Spring Seasons have all come to a close, but relegations are ongoing from today till the 25th. You can catch all the action on Twitch.
You can also check out a recap of the UK LoL Spring 2021 results in this video:
Related posts:
Megalodontus is a miraculous survivor from the mass extinction and somehow learnt how to use his stubby fins to operate complicated mechanical equipment and drink tea. Worryingly for cryptozoologists, he’s been writing League of Legends articles too.
A self-taught writer who’s had the privilege to work with good editors who aren’t terrified of his pearly whites, Megalodontus is often seen writing either independently or for various websites such as this one. When not writing, he usually runs it down mid in real life and is fascinated with watching paint dry.
