Image credit: Unicorns of Love Twitter
Update (February 25th 2022): The LCL has postponed the week three games due to the crisis in Ukraine.
The LCL said in a tweet: “After careful consideration, the decision has been made to postpone the games of the third week of the Continental League. We will announce the new schedule as soon as we can. In the meantime, stay tuned for further updates on our social networks.”
Original article:
The LCL (LoL Continental League), the official League of Legends league for the CIS region, now has an English broadcast with a trio of UK casters on board.
Hiprain, Jamada and Viperoon will cast this, running alongside the main Russian broadcast which begins on February 12th.
UK caster DocDa will also be helping the cast for week one’s matches.
It’s being organised by defending LCL champions Unicorns of Love, who attended Worlds and MSI last year, and is supported by LCL organiser and sponsor Gig.me.
All three UK casters were part of the NLC 2022 caster talent line-up announcement last month, the League of Legends European Regional League (ERL) for the UK, Ireland and Nordics.
Hiprain and Jamada also cast some LEC games last summer, and for 2022 the LEC invited UK caster Nymaera as well as Irish duo Oisin and Dagda, who also cast the Chinese LPL’s English language broadcast with Aux and others.
The LCL is one of the many professional leagues in Riot Games’ LoL competitive ecosystem, with the winners of the spring season able to attend the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), and the winners of the summer season able to reach the World Championship. The league used to have Gambit Esports, a big name in EU LoL from the EU LCS days, but they disbanded last year.
However, 2022’s spring season will include Team Spirit, whose Dota 2 division won The International 2021.
Unicorns of Love are an old brand name in Europe from the EU LCS days. They did not continue on with the LEC and instead entered the LCL in summer 2019, acquiring Team Just’s spot. UoL have since won a record-breaking five consecutive LCL titles, including 2021 summer.
Romain Bigeard, now the general manager of G2 Esports, was with the Unicorns for a number of years and was famous for his costumes and antics.
They also have a sister team called Unicorns of Love Sexy Edition, who are competing in the Prime League (the DACH European Regional League) and are currently tied for third at 7-5.
You can watch the LCL English language broadcast at twitch.tv/unicornsoflove and youtube.com/UnicornsOfLove, and check out our 2021 interviews with Hiprain and Jamada here.
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.
