Garena Premier League
The Garena Premier League (GPL) was a professional League of Legends esports league with teams in Southeast Asia (included teams from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau before 2015 and Vietnam before 2018). It was founded in 2012. The opening event took place on May 5 with Riot's CEO Brandon Beck, VP of Gaming Dustin Beck, Taiwanese game designer Jeff Lin, and Nikasaur attending personally. It is the first regional professional esports competition of League of Legends in the world. In last season - 2018 Spring - the league consists of 5 teams who are the champions of 5 national leagues in Southeast Asia. The top four teams of group stage are advanced to the playoff, which are held in a best-of-5 single elimination system.[1]
 | |
| Sport | League of Legends |
|---|---|
| Inaugural season | 2012 |
| Replaced by | LST |
| Owner(s) | Garena |
| No. of teams | 5 |
| Countries |  Southeast Asia |
| Venue(s) | Various |
| Most recent champion(s) |  Ascension Gaming |
| Most titles |  Taipei Assassins |
| Qualification | 5 minor leagues
|
| TV partner(s) | Garena Live, YouTube |
| Sponsor(s) | Riot Games, Garena |
| Level on pyramid | Tier 1 |
| International cup(s) | Mid Season Invitational Rift Rivals World Championship |
| Related competitions | LMS VCS PCS |
In late 2014, Riot and Garena split teams from Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong into their own league, the LMS, which began play in Spring 2015.[2] Following the changes, the GPL no longer sent teams directly to the League of Legends World Championship group stage. The GPL became part of the International Wildcard tournament, along with CBLoL (Brazil), OPL (Oceania), LCL (CIS), LJL (Japan), TCL (Turkey), LLN (Latin America North) and CLS (Latin America South), and would compete to represent the Wildcard regions in the play in stages at the Mid-Season Invitational and World Championship.[3]
In 2018, the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) separated from the GPL. The winner of VCS will qualify for Mid-Season Invitational and World Championship without take part in the GPL.[4]
The 2018 GPL Spring Split was the last GPL tournament. Afterwards, the GPL was replaced by the League of Legends SEA Tour (LST) with a new format. The winner of the LST will represent Southeast Asia to qualify for Play-in Stage of Mid-Season Invitational and World Championship, begin from World Championship 2018.[5]
Participants of GPL
Last season (2018 Spring split)
| Region | League |
|---|---|
 Indonesia |
LOL Garuda Series (LGS) |
 Malaysia |
LOL Championship Malaysia (LCM) |
 Philippines |
Pro Gaming Series (PGS) |
 Singapore |
Singapore Legends Series (SLS) |
| Thailand |
Thailand Pro League (TPL) |
In mid-2018, the GPL was replaced with the LST, and the leagues of each country were replaced by "LST Qualifiers"
Former
| Region | Championship League | Note |
|---|---|---|
Taiwan Hong Kong Macau |
League of Legends Nova League (LNL) | Separated in 2015, became a Major Region (guaranteed two slots in the World Championship, three slots from 2017 onwards). The LNL was replaced by the League of Legends Master Series (LMS). |
 Vietnam |
Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) | Separated in 2018, became a Wildcard Region (guaranteed one slot for MSI and the World Championship). VCS became a Tier 1 league like the GPL. |
Results
| Year | Split | Winner | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Season 1 | Taipei Assassins |
Singapore Sentinels |
| 2013 | Spring | Taipei Assassins |
Singapore Sentinels |
| Summer | ahq e-Sports Club |
Singapore Sentinels | |
| 2014 | Winter | Taipei Assassins |
Taipei Snipers |
| Spring | Taipei Assassins |
ahq e-Sports Club | |
| Summer | Taipei Assassins |
ahq e-Sports Club | |
| After Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau separated | |||
| 2015 | Spring | Saigon Fantastic Five |
Bangkok Titans |
| Summer | Bangkok Titans |
Saigon Jokers | |
| 2016 | Spring | Saigon Jokers |
Bangkok Titans |
| Summer | Saigon Jokers |
Bangkok Titans | |
| 2017 | Spring | GIGABYTE Marines |
Ascension Gaming |
| Summer | GIGABYTE Marines |
Young Generation | |
| After Vietnam separated | |||
| 2018 | Spring | Ascension Gaming |
Kuala Lumpur Hunters |
Record
Top-performing
| Team | Winner | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|
| Taipei Assassins |
5 | |
| ahq e-Sports Club |
1 | |
| Singapore Sentinels |
3 | |
| Taipei Snipers |
1 | |
| After Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau separated | ||
| Saigon Jokers |
2 | 1 |
| GIGABYTE Marines |
2 | |
| Bangkok Titans |
1 | 3 |
| Saigon Fantastic Five |
1 | |
| Young Generation |
1 | |
| Ascension Gaming |
1 | |
| After Vietnam separated | ||
| Ascension Gaming |
1 | |
| Kuala Lumpur Hunters |
1 | |
References
- "Garena Premier League (GPL) in 2018 and Beyond". Garena LoL. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
- "Garena to separate Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau from South East Asia for the 2015 GPL Season". yahoo.com. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
- "The Philippines just lost another chance to compete in one of the biggest esports events of the year". Inquirer.net. July 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
- "Vietnam is now an independent competitive region". lolesports.com. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
- "A New Beginning for Esports in Southeast Asia". Garena LoL. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
External links
| Main |  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Championship | |||||
| Mid-Season Invitational | |||||
| Rift Rivals | |||||
| Regional leagues |
| ||||
| Music |
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| Related games and media | |||||
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