After an unorthodox winter split run in the recent NLC Calibration Tournament, we are happy to confirm that Viperio League of Legends will continue to operate as a competitive division of the organisation moving into 2022, after securing a spot in the third tier of NLC competition within Freaks 4U Gaming’s new UKI Nordic League of Legends ecosystem.
Christopher Sword, Founder of Viperio commented:
“While we had a chance at higher divisions, securing a spot in the NLC Division Three for 2022 is a great result for our organisation going into the new UKI Nordics League of Legends ecosystem. The division is at a similar tier to where our team competed before the reshuffle, presenting a great opportunity for us to refind our footing, and continue our way up the revamped EU LoL hierarchy.”
Viperio would like to thank players 🇵🇱 Bartosz ‘Makony‘ Dabrowski, 🇬🇧 Paul ‘JonnyREcco‘ Whyte, 🇩🇰 Thomas Goh Balleby Hansen, 🇵🇱 Hubert ‘Kazz‘ Dabrowski & 🇭🇷 Ignjat ‘TheGugaJeans‘ Predavec, along with staff members 🇬🇧 Alan ‘Coldbolt‘ Reid & 🇸🇬 Calvin ‘Hevinix‘ So for their contributions in helping Viperio obtain this spot.
Reflection on Winter Split
Viperio were fortunate enough to be accepted into the NLC Division One Qualifier following a successful team application. While relatively unexpected, Viperio take pride in the fact that Freaks 4U Gaming recognise Viperio as a valuable contributor and competitive brand within esports at this level. Despite being given this opportunity, Viperio were unfortunately hit with some major setbacks this season which reduced our competitiveness as a team going into the calibration tournament:
Impact of COVID-19 on our Division One Qualifier Run
Unfortunately, COVID-19 had a direct impact on our League of Legends squad this winter split, with Support player 🇭🇷 Ignjat ‘TheGugaJeans‘ Predavec contracting the illness right before the start of the NLC Division One Qualifier. Ignjat was admitted to hospital for a brief period of time due to the seriousness of his condition, however has since been discharged. He has since made a full recovery. Because of this, Viperio was forced to use Head Coach 🇸🇬 Calvin ‘Hevinix‘ So for all Group stage games, and all series, except one game of a best of three series. Viperio are grateful to Calvin for stepping up when needed, preventing us from forfeiting games within this event.
Player availability in the NLC Division Two Qualifier
Unfortunately, Viperio had to forfeit games in the NLC Division Two qualifier, due to being unable to field a roster for our series between 30th-31st October. This was due to some players having to prioritise pre-existing work commitments outside of esports. While Viperio did request exceptions to be made to allow us to field a competitive roster, unfortunately these requests could not be granted in the interest of consistent rule application for all teams. Viperio did consider the use of Team Manager Alan Reid as a substitute, but in the best interest of our competitors, Viperio did not want to field a non-competitive line-up, resulting in forfeiting our matches.
Moving into 2022
Moving into the new year and our first season in the new competition series, Viperio are looking to continue to be one of the best teams for fans to follow, with frequent pre-game, live, and post-game coverage of our competitive activities. Viperio take pride in the coverage of our competitive activities, and understand this is one of our strengths as an organisation.
As for the structure, personnel and roster of our League of Legends division, further updates on this will be provided over the next few weeks, as we re-evaluate and reshape our squad ahead of the new year. Be sure to follow Viperio on Twitter to stay up-to-date with Future announcements.
