Priminent esports tournament organiser and media firm, LetsPlay.Live, has shared its plans about ‘LPL Pathfinder’, a revitalised direction for 2024, emphasising on augmenting grassroots tournaments and providing a quicker way to reach professional competition.
Labelled as “a radical shift” in the format of esports leagues at LetsPlay.Live (LPL), founder and CEO Duane Mutu mentioned, “we have been cooperating closely with our community in formulating LPL Pathfinder.
“We requested brutally sincere feedback on what sectors of our business we should enhance, and the prevailing consensus was that grassroots required more attention.
“Pathfinder isn’t just a fresh format for LPL, but also a promise to our players offering better transparency about what they can anticipate from LPL in 2024. By providing a guide, they can more effectively manage their time investment, build their team, recruit new players and feel confident that their devotion to play will be appreciated.”
Mutu depicts 2023 as a massive year for LPL.
With the backing of publishers worldwide, the firm could organise several large-scale events like the VALORANT Challengers Oceania, PUBG Challenger Rumble Season 2, Clash Royale Asia-Pacific Tour and the Clash Royale World Tour.
Despite these tournaments being popular among most of the LPL community, feedback indicated that players also wanted steady, regular opportunities to play with their friends and teammates as well. Pathfinder – a new ‘Pathway to Pro’ – intends to deliver precisely that.
LPL Pathfinder signifies several significant modifications to the framework of divisions at LPL and is also the first instance the firm has pledged to a roadmap of events for a year in advance. In past years, LPL competitions have included a free-to-play Open category and four subscription divisions known as Amateur, Evolution, Challenger and Pro. Under LPL Pathfinder, this has been overhauled.
The Free-to-play Open section remains as it is, but the number of subscription divisions has been cut down to three and renamed to Bronze, Silver and Gold. The new divisions are more universally comprehensible, notably for new players, with clearer naming conventions to prevent confusion about how the tiers of progression function. Pro Players will now be part of the Gold division, Challenger players will play in Silver and prior Evolution and Amateur players will play in Bronze.
Moreover, the Pathway to Pro has been enhanced with the inclusion of Wildcard Qualifiers during all promotions and relegation cycles. Previously, it would take more than a year for a new player to elevate from Amateur to Pro. By introducing Wildcard Qualifiers, any team from any division gets a chance to compete against the top players and possibly secure a higher division tournament spot.
Under LPL Pathfinder there will be three seasons for Shooter titles (CS2, Rainbow Six Siege, Valorant) beginning with open qualifiers starting on January 20th and five seasons for Battle Royale titles (PUBG, PUBG Mobile, Apex Legends) expected to commence on March 1st. In addition, LPL will keep collaborating with publishers to organise more large-scale events, which will be revealed in the forthcoming months. Lastly, LPL will cooperate with the New Zealand Esports Federation to introduce a rotating roster of titles exclusive for New Zealand players.
LetsPlay.Live accommodates players of all skill levels from grassroots open tournaments to professional broadcast matches with a pathway for new players to perfect their skills across APAC.
Bottom image: The Pathfinder 2024 guide.
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