Update (July 22nd 2021): The UK final of Red Bull Solo Q, the official global 1v1 League of Legends competition, will take place at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London this Sunday (July 25th).
Eight amateur players will battle to be crowned UK champion, who will then face-off against the best duelists from more than 30 countries on the mainstage at the prestigious Red Bull Solo Q World Final in Germany at the end of the year. The winner will also be in with a chance to experience Riot Games’ League of Legends All-Star Event first-hand.
To stay up to date with the Red Bull Solo Q UK circuit, join the official Red Bull Solo Q Discord and visit redbull.com/soloq.
Original article (March 23rd 2021):
Red Bull Solo Q, the official 1v1 League of Legends tournament, is back for 2021 and kicks off in March.
Some of the best amateur players from around the world will battle to be crowned the ultimate solo champ of the Rift.
What began as a grassroots tournament in 2014, Red Bull Solo Q has grown to become a regular circuit with the champion experiencing the League of Legends All-Star event first-hand.
Red Bull Solo Q 2021 will build on last year’s success, which attracted over 80,000 signups and national and international champions crowned around the world. It’s currently being promoted in the League of Legends game client.
There will be special appearances from some of the biggest stars in League of Legends, including Eefje ‘Sjokz’ Depoortere, the global brand ambassador for Red Bull Solo Q 2021.
Sjokz has been the face of the competition since 2019 and will be part of selected events, from national tournaments all the way to the world final.
The tournament series adds a new challenge to the League of Legends format: 1v1 duels where the player must draw first blood, take down the opponent’s tower, or reach a 100-minion score to claim victory.
Red Bull Solo Q 2021 will see more than 30 national tournaments, 10 international qualifiers and a global final at the end of the year. The final is planned to take place at an on-site event in Germany; however, organisers say this is subject to change and that ‘the health and safety of players is the number one priority’.
In terms of the UK qualifiers for Red Bull Solo Q, the first national qualifier takes place on June 12th, which players can sign up for now on the Red Bull Solo Q Battlefy page, and another on June 26th.
Winners of each qualifier will be invited to compete in the UK final in July, and the UK champion will then face-off against the best duelists from more than 30 countries on the main stage at the Red Bull Solo Q World Final in Germany at the end of the year.
Red Bull Solo Q has joined forces with SteelSeries, which will provide headsets, keyboards and mice to duelists, as well as AOC, which will supply monitors to competitors.
Past Red Bull 1v1 LoL events have seen UK talent emerge, such as Haseeb ‘BlueSpirits’ Rasool, who won the Red Bull 1v1 UK finals in 2019.
The first Red Bull Solo Q 2021 International Online Qualifiers are open for registration here.
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.
