Long-time readers of Esports News UK may recognise the name Philip Macartney, the once owner of Enclave Gaming, an organisation that competed in UK League of Legends years ago.
Today he is managing director and founder of UK-registered company Loadscreen Ltd, which is teaming up with Rally Cry as a broadcast partner of the LCS North American Challengers League 2024. In this quickfire interview, we ask him what Loadscreen is all about, his mission to tackle esports’ challenges – and if he misses UK League now that he’s based in Canada.
Dom Sacco, Esports News UK: It’s good to talk to you again, Phil! Please tell us about Loadscreen. When was it set up and what are your aims with it?
Philip Macartney, Loadscreen: Loadscreen was set up in the middle of 2022, following an influx of influencers and brands reaching out to collaborate after my departure from my previous role.
We represent over 80 different talent across the globe, and we also work on media, broadcast and events.
If I had to boil my aims with Loadscreen down to one thing, it would be our commitment to not being part of the ‘esports/gaming problem’.
I just felt the industry having an issue where numerous companies were overcharging brands leading to inflated rates in both production and the influencer space, creating a sense of distrust.
At Loadscreen, we are a specialised agency dedicated to influencers and production.
“Our mission is to provide a solution to the challenges faced in the esports and gaming space, ensuring fair and reasonable rates for both brands and influencers while prioritising quality and freshness. This focus not only sets us apart but also reflects our dedication to creating a more balanced and sustainable ecosystem within the gaming industry.
Philip Macartney, Loadscreen
Please tell us about working on LCS Challengers.
In 2023, Loadscreen did the qualifiers for LCS Challengers and, due to the work we did on those, this year we were entrusted with the main LCS Challengers broadcast.
This is a good sign that we are on the right path and shows the drive and quality that my team is delivering on.”
About LCS Challengers 2024
The 2024 North American Challengers League (NACL) kicks off on January 20th 2024 with a new Fearless Draft format.
The NACL is the official path-to-pro ecosystem for League of Legends, and features the likes of Area of Effect, Cincinnati Fear, Disguised, FlyQuest Challengers, LiT Esports, Maryville University, Mirage Alliance, Supernova, Team Liquid Challengers and Wildcard.
Rally Cry will provide broadcast, operations and platform support through 2024, and also has rights to monetise and distribute the league. Loadscreen will act as broadcast partner.
The Regular Season and Playoff matches will be broadcast live after each LCS matchday. While NACL Qualifiers will also take place over the weekend, broadcast coverage will be aired during the week.
An inaugural Tier 2 Americas Tournament will also take place later this year, featuring top teams from developmental leagues across North America, Brazil, and Latin America.
Rally Cry is working closely with CBLOL and LLA to create a tournament across the Americas’ developmental ecosystems in a bid to ‘ignite regional fandom and create a new aspirational goal for players’.
“Our team is honored to play such a pivotal role in helping develop the North American League of Legends esports ecosystem,” said Adam Mierzejewski, head of League Operations at Rally Cry. This partnership will showcase our many years of experience of esports operations and allow us to provide the best possible experience for players and fans alike.”
Back to the interview. Do you miss Enclave Gaming and UK League of Legends? What learnings did you take from running that to what you’re doing now?
I don’t think miss is really the right word. I have a lot of nostalgia from my time with Enclave but its also a very painful memory, I dedicated five years of my life to that project and have only recently come to terms with having to let go of it.
UK league was ultimately wiped out with the decision to merge it with the Nordics, so I think I left at the right time. [editor’s note – the UKEL has since returned last summer]
Ultimately, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Enclave. And I certainly took my learnings into how I manage Loadscreen, in terms of how important it is to be honest and transparent with people.
“I have a lot of nostalgia from my time with Enclave but its also a very painful memory, I dedicated five years of my life to that project and have only recently come to terms with having to let go of it.”
Philip Macartney
Please tell us about your time with Elohell, after Enclave.
Enclave primarily took up most of my life between 2015 and 2020, during that period I worked in various sales roles but that was all so I could learn how to sell Enclave to be honest.
After I decided to take a step back from Enclave in early 2020, I joined Elo Hell Esports as their Head of Strategic Partnerships. Almost immediately, I realised that the company had a great broadcast production product but no real sense of how to sell or the business side. So I quickly become the Head of Sales & Marketing, leading the efforts alongside Blizzard Entertainment for their Korea and Chinese Contenders series.
By the end of 2020, I managed to win the company’s biggest bid to date, the NA vs EU Contenders Gauntlet, which had previously been an offline event but was moved online due to covid.
Over the course of my time at Elo Hell, I managed to bring us clients such as Razer, High School Esports League, the United Service Organization (USO), Battlefy and various others whilst starting an influencer agency called Elo Hell Creators.
I probably learned the most at EHE about how big the American market was and how, in order to grow a business, being in America was going to be extremely important.
Thanks for your time Philip and good luck.
You can watch the LCS Challengers from January 20th 2024 at the end of each week on the LCS_Challengers Twitch channel and lolesports.com, after each LCS matchday. There’s more scheduling info in this NACL 2024 article on the lolesports.com website
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.
