Author: TheGamingBear

Championship Series Jersey Giveaway

To celebrate the Season 14 Championship Series weekend, courtesy of our friends at Guardian Proline we are giving away one quality MLE Praetorian jersey!

This prize is only open to current MLE community members. To enter simply do the following:

1. Follow @mlesportsgg on Twitter and/or Instagram
2. Like and retweet (for Twitter) either or both of these posts: Twitter post , Instagram post
3. In the comments reply with #MLEChampSeries

If you follow the entry instructions on both Twitter and Instagram you will get two entries! You only need to like and comment on Instagram post for valid Instagram entry. For full terms & conditions of the giveaway please see below:

Terms & Conditions:

    • Prize is for 1 Praetorian style jersey from the MLE collection of the winners choice only.
    • Prize can not be swapped for something of similar monetary value.
    • Entrants are only permitted to a maximum of 2 entries (1 for each successful Social Media platform engagement).
    • Multiple entries using different/alternative accounts is not permitted. Any entrant found to have exceeded the maximum no. of entries will have all entries invalidated bar 2.
    • Winner must be a current member of the MLE community (i.e. in the main Discord server).
    • Prize is limited to NA and EU residents. MLE reserves the right to refuse winner on behalf of Guardian Proline if logistics of shipping prize are problematic.
    • Entrants should ensure MLE is able to identify entrants from their Social Media accounts to their Discord profiles within the MLE server. Where possible Social Media accounts should be linked to Discord profiles.
    • MLE reserves the right to invalidate an entry.
    • Entries close on Monday 22nd November at 12pm ET.
    • Winner will be announced within the next 7-10 days.

Big thank you to Guardian Proline for working with Minor League Esports, providing fans and the community with excellent merchandise.
Good luck folks!

And don’t forget to tune into the MLE Network this weekend from 6pm ET Saturday and Sunday for the Championship Series weekend.

Season 14 Playoffs Are Here!

13 gruelling weeks of boosts, goals, demos, flips, screams, sweat, tears and much more have led to one thing… PLAYOFFS!

Seasons 14 Playoffs promise to be the most exciting yet. With 10 Championships up for grabs across 5 leagues and 2 game modes, come the 20th November there will be a lot of jubilant celebrations from those lucky enough to claim Championship glory.

31 of the 32 franchises had at least one team qualify for the playoffs with only the Jets missing out altogether. No doubt the Jets will be back next season determined to prove they are “top guns”.

With 31 franchises all vying for triumph the competition will be fierce with many feeling deserving of the title of Champions. But only a few can prevail.

To see who succeeds the live action starts on the 29th October from 6pm ET on the MLE Network and continues every weekend up to and including the grand Finals weekend on the 19th & 20th November.

Playoff Live Schedule:
29-30th October | Play Ins
5-6th November | Conference Semi-Finals
12-13th November | Conference Finals
19-20th November | Grand Finals

MLE at RLCS ’22

Unless you were hiding under a Rocket League inhibiting rock last week then you were probably aware it was the Rocket League Championship Series World Championship (RLCS Worlds as the cool kids say) in Forth Worth, Texas. It’s the jewel in the RL Esports calendar crown, an event that always offers up plenty of action and excitement. This year was no exception!

What made the event even more special is that it was the first World Championships post COVID. With that in mind you could count on swathes of RL fans across the globe making their way to the state of Texas come hell or high-water!

With such a passionate, RL loving community of our own, Minor League Esports was well represented with a plethora of community members in attendance. We thought we would take this opportunity to provide the perspectives and experiences of some of our members who were able to attend.

For a number of our community members, such as BoogerBear (Shadow), Royalty (Express), iAtomic (Sharks) and stoofy (Comets), RLCS Worlds 22 was their first RL event. AnOddFellow (Tyrants) was unsure about what exactly expect“I had never been to anything like this before so I wasn’t sure what to expect other a lot of Rocket League fans and seeing content creators and players wandering around.” Hey that doesn’t sound like the worst way to spend your time. Others, such as Zack (Bears), had a bit more experience in terms of live events, “I’ve been to a few CRL tournaments, but this was my first RLCS.”

Plumato (Lightning) knew what he was looking forward to, “I was very excited to watch another LAN and get the full experience of a world championship for the first time (I was going to go to RLCSX which got cancelled). I was definitely looking forward to seeing some insane gameplay from the up and coming teams such as Furia and Falcons.” But arguably the MLE community member with the highest expectations for RLCS Worlds was Guchu (Hive), This was my first Rocket League event and I expected to go to the event and then go back to hotel and be done with the day after everyday.”

Regardless of whether this was their first event or not there’s no doubt everyone was excited for the World Championships.

There were a total of 24 teams that competed across Worlds but who were our community rooting for? Some, like Plumato hedged their “bets” when it came to their support, “Version 1, SSG, Furia, Moist, and Endpoint. I like to keep my options open so I’m not too upset if my favorite team loses.” But there were a few teams in particular seemed to be quite popular amongst MLE attendees, “I was supporting NRG and Furia” said Royalty. BoogerBear was also in support of Furia amongst others FURIA, Falcons, KCP. Minor regions are insanely fun to cheer for and are finally catching up to the NA/EU skill level” and Zack also jumped aboard the Furia hype train “Furia definitely won us over!” he exclaimed. Indeed Furia were definitely one of the talking points of RLCS, the first non NA/EU team to reach the semi’s of RLCS, representing South American Rocket League Esports fantastically but falling just short at the semi-final stage to eventual Champions Team BDS.

Stoofy, Paully and Rolamin. This must have been before Stoofy hugged and screamed Paully and Rolamin into therapy.

Sticking with Furia and looking at the highlights of RLCS, their rise in popularity could somewhat be attributed to their Quarter-Final series vs Moist Esports in which they edged a game 7 decider in dramatic fashion! benven (Dodgers) was in no doubt about their favoruite moment of the championships “Furia beating Moist for sure.” A sentiment echoed by other MLE community members “Furia vs Moist Quarter-Final match. That was the best series I’ve ever seen live.” said Zack and stoofy, definitely had no doubts about his favoruite moment, “Furia upsetting Moist in Game 7. Paully, Rolamin, and I were jumping, hugging, and screaming when Yan put the dagger in Moist. That entire series was bonkers. Easily the most electric moment I’ve ever been a part of.” It’s believed Paully and Rolamin are still recovering to this day.

One MLE member, dad (Spartans), offered a more tactical perspective of Furia and the match, “My favorite part of the event was watching how Furia was able to adapt their play style so well based on which team they played against. Wether that meant they could play their relaxed rotations and high mechanical plays or such as against Moist being able to tighten their defensive rotations and catch Moist out of position.” 

While the Furia vs Moist series was unequivocally the highlight of the Championships among many attendees for others their highlight was, well all of it “There was no one favorite moment, it was all an incredible experience.”  says AnOddFellow. I imagine the vast majority who attended wouldn’t disagree with that statement.

Tater & goyo the greatest bromance never to be told but soon to be.

But events like RLCS Worlds aren’t just about the gaming action, no they are an opportunity for people to make memories. Catch up with friends or make new ones. Perhaps even get a significant other invested in a passion of yours like benven did, “Personally, (my highlight) it was that my wife got super into it after dragging her all the way to Dallas.” he said, “Even found her checking out the esports subreddit and she remembered all the players names and everything. It’s now something we enjoy together!” 

For many in the MLE community RLCS represented to meet in person the friends they had made in MLE “I met Adi, Raspberries, Miss Ginge, Water, TheBigC, and others from MLE (I think we had a table of 15) at this Korean BBQ and it was so much fun.” said iAtomic making this writer now want Korean BBQ food.

RLCS for goyo represented the perfected opportunity to meet one of his long-term online friends in person,“One of the highlights was meeting lots of people that I have known for years online. Tater was one of them. It was great to finally have a face to his name and give him a big hug. Dude is a legend.” Guchu (Hive) also got all emotional on us regarding their personal highlight, ready the tissues folks, “Getting the big group picture. When we were all lining up for the picture it just kind of set for me, this truly wasn’t just a community about a video game, it was a community that made me feel like I had a second home.” I’m not crying you are.

Left to Right: Idjo, Me, Phi Sig, Alphomega17, Wray, notorious, Ondo, Achilles, B++, Crey2k, Fayrose, TrashPanda

RLCS also presents a great opportunity for people to meet and mix with famous people within RL Esports scene and for some community members, these moments were their personal highlights. stoofy was able to pounce on fan favourites Furia, “It was surreal meeting Furia as we were leaving the arena and getting to take a Comets x Furia style picture with them.” he said, adding “Great dudes, I wish them the best!”  AnOddFellow donned on his best swim trunks“Going to SunlessKhan’s Pool Watch Party the last day of groups and just mingling with pros/content creators/casters/friends I’ve never met in person before.” Anyone else want to namedrop? Oh go on iAtomic what/who you got for us? “Another highlight was me speaking to kronovi when he was at our AirBNB for a party and we spoke about Content Creation for half an hour.” Kronovi? Never heard of them. They play psychedelic rock or European electronica? Jokes aside (call them jokes?) the MLE community certainly had a memorable time.

So as the remnants of ticker tape have all but been cleared from the Dickies Arena floor it’s left for our community members to provide their final thoughts. “It was a blast. I would do it again in a heartbeat” said BoogerBear, “9/10 I had a fantastic time would go again” emphasised Guchu… only 9/10? tough crowd…  “10/10.” said goyo, that’s more like it! “Practically it’s the best experience I could ask for as a Rocket League fan and would most certainly do it again given the chance.” says Royal who’s positivity was mirrored by dad’s summary “I loved the experience. It was a chance to meet people in person that I’ve played with for a long time and meet others that I’ve played with for a short time. I would 100% go to another RLCS event!”

Pretty much everyone was glowingly positive about their overall experience though benven did have one criticism “I loved it but the last day was WAY too long.” benven is now no longer permitted to attend any RL LANS but his wife still can. stoofy definitely had a good time though “Absolutely insane! Despite spilling vodka on my head trying to do one of B++’s waves on my first day, I’d say this was genuinely one of the greatest experiences in my lifetime. I’ll 100% be coming back for more LANs.” I wonder if he ever perfected B++ wave (please note B++ wave must not be attempted at home and can only be safely performed by trained professionals).

There’s no doubt the MLE community will be out in force at future RL events and that is something we can all agree can only be a good thing. A big thank you to anyone who attended RLCS Worlds from the MLE community and who represented MLE & it’s community in the way it should be – friendly, respectful and passionate. Also big thank you those who have contributed to this article with their quotes, experiences and photos. Without the community there is no MLE. Here’s to next time!

Here’s some more photos of intrepid and wonderful community members at RLCS!

Smiles all around for Guchu and Grantcfo
Back Row: Kenga, dad, terpstra, Driptain Front Row: Schultzy, KeyNorth, Gala
Plumato and Maseface representing the Lightning at RLCS!
Guchu smiling again, this time with Achilles.
Rolamin, Stoofy and Paully with Furia Esports
MLE Community at large at RLCS! So many great people in one photo!

New Affiliate Announcement: ExpressVPN

Minor League Esports is proud to announce a new affiliation with ExpressVPN, the world’s largest premium VPN service provider! If you’re looking to surf the web safely and securely then a VPN is essential. Well, ExpressVPN has you covered!

ExpressVPN is a privacy and security tool that encrypts users’ web traffic and masks their IP addresses. With easy-to-use apps for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, as well as platforms that other VPN companies do not support. ExpressVPN offers best-in-class encryption with over 3,000 servers in 160 VPN server locations, in 94 countries

There are many benefits that come with using ExpressVPN. Here’s just a snippet of some the great advantages ExpressVPN has to offer:

  • The only provider that unblocks streaming services not just on the VPN, but also using MediaStreamer on devices such as Apple TV, PlayStation, Xbox, and smart TVs that cannot run any VPN.
  • A strict privacy policy. No activity logs. No connection logs.
  • Access content anywhere, free of geo restrictions on all of your favorite streaming services such as Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, BBC iPlayer, ITV, Sky Go, and more.
  • Next-gen Lightway protocol offers greater speeds, security, and reliability, especially on mobile.
  • Reliable service in high-censorship places where other VPN providers are blocked.
  • 5 simultaneous connections.
  • A Stream Sports Guide that lets users know how to watch live sporting events with a VPN. Learn the best ways to stream sports on your computer, mobile device, or big-screen TV and get the best prices for sports streaming by comparing services.

Sounds good right? If you want to find out more about ExpressVPN you can do so right here. As part of our affiliation with ExpressVPN we have a great offer for anyone who signs up. Sign up for a 12 month package now and you will receive 3 whole months extra for absolutely free! Every sign-up helps support Minor League Esports and revenue generated from the affiliation is invested back into the league and our amazing community. So there’s no better time to get yourself protected online!

Thank you for your support and thank you to ExpressVPN for supporting Minor League Esports.

Impostors Raise Money for Charity

Last month Minor League Esports hosted a special charity stream in the name of raising money for good causes!

Raising money for Extra Life and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, we put on a special Among Us charity stream, which saw members of the MLE Council take to space and merrily accuse each other of “impostery” (a word we definitely didn’t just make up) in the hopes of raising a few cents for the charities… and our community did not disappoint!

Big gg’s to everyone who supported the event. You helped to raise a total of $646 which means each charity will receive, after GoFundMe fees, $310.91 each! This is a great result and the money raised will go to supporting invaluable services and support for those who need it.

If you missed the entertainment you can watch the whole stream back here. And we are happy to report that, despite the wild accusations and frequent sabotage that occurred during the event, the Council are all still friends… for now.

Inside MLE: April Monthly Insight

Welcome to the latest instalment of MLE Monthly Insight; an in-depth look behind the scenes at the different areas of MLE. In these articles we will look to give you, the community a peep behind the scenes, to see what’s happening and potentially what’s coming. With playoffs literally just around the corner it’s been a busy time behind the scenes so what’s been going on? Let’s find out…

Community

With franchise logo reveals now well underway, there were two community surveys published to gauge community reaction to 10 of the revealed logos. We received a decent number of responses to both surveys, though the more feedback we get the better perspective we have of community opinion. Generally the consensus on the logos revealed so far has been positive, with a few caveats, which we will touch upon.

So how were the last 10 logos revealed received?

From the infographic there’s clearly one “anomaly” in comparison to the rest of the logos. The Spectre, Spartans and Bulls logos were all well received, with strong positive like to dislike ratios. In particular the Spartans, which no one ranked below 3. The only main criticism of the Spartans logo was the “mane”, which some people felt went too far around the helmet. The Bulls logo received a fair amount of praise for its shading and use of colours but there was some uncertainty regarding the “white circle backdrop”. The Spectre logo was commended for its design and use of colours though there were some who felt a different design would have suited the franchise more.

The one “anomaly” in the pack was the Flames logo. Before the logo was revealed we had a hunch that the logo may divide opinion due to it’s relatively minimalistic nature. It appears from the feedback that the simplicity of the logo was the main criticism, with lack of shading and detail cited. It’s clear the logo didn’t meet a number of people’s expectations and we are reviewing the possibility of changes.

The Eclipse, Hawks, Hive and Wizards also had their logos revealed this past month, let’s see what the community had to say about them?

As with the previous four logos the reception was generally positive. The Hawks logo was complimented for its design and detail with people stating the Hawk looked fierce and aggressive. One of the main points of contention raised was the general size/proportion of the logo due to its width. The Wizards logo, with a like to dislike ratio of 7.6 to 1, was praised for its general design and its “relatability” to the franchise. A few people felt the secondary colour of the franchise, yellow, could have been incorporated more into the logo. The Hive divided opinion somewhat, with the design being the focal point for divide in opinion. A number of people liked the angular design and sharp edges but there was some criticism of the use of red in the logo. Lastly the Eclipse is one that has split opinion right down the middle with a 1-1 like to dislike ratio. Majority of people felt the colour scheme gave the logo a clean and bold look. The main issue a number of people had was with association and relatability. A portion of people felt the logo didn’t symbolise what they expect when thinking of Eclipse.

Lastly the Sabres and Express also received new logos…

The Express received the honour of joining the Spartans in receiving no “dislikes” (i.e. a rating of 1 or 2). The main compliments of the logo were the level detail of the use of colours. There was a proportion of people who felt the steam wasn’t necessary or could be reduced but there were no common complaints regarding the logo. The Sabres was also generally well received, with people liking the general design however there was a common theme regarding certain changes such as incorporating white fur to increase association with Sabretooth tigers. The nose was also a contentious point of the design, with a proportion of people feeling it didn’t look right.

Overall the feedback to logos has been generally positive so far. We will discuss the design of each logo a little bit more in-depth in the media section. As many in the community will be aware after recent discussions and a community poll, we have decided to change tact in terms of revealing logos. We had been revealing a few each week on stream. However with playoffs starting next week (9th May) there was a desire, especially from a Broadcast perspective, to have all the franchise logos ready to use come the start of the playoffs. With this in mind we will be broadcasting a special reveal stream this Friday (time tbc) on the MLE Network.

Of course the Community the team has been busy elsewhere. Admissions continue to run smoothly and the team are gearing up for the inevitable increase in applications that come with the playoffs. Below are admissions stats for the month of April. Big GGs to the admissions team for bringing in fresh meat to the community!

Recently, the Events team has still been attempting to rebuild and improve event player numbers. The team are planning on utilizing the off-season survey to hear community suggestions on the future of MLE Events. Two events are currently being planned for the playoffs. The first is another Crew Battles event and we hope to put on a Call of Duty Warzone competition event. More info on these will be released soon. The team are confident that with the feedback from the community on this seasons off-season survey that they can bring enjoyable events for everyone.

The Power Rankings Committee, with the assistance of  a couple of community members, are working on a community feature to be run during the playoffs. The feature is hoped to bring an extra level of interest and engagement into every playoff series. More details will be released this week once the idea has been finalised.

LEAGUE OPERATIONS

It’s been largely business as usual for League Operations this past month, ensuring things run smoothly and rules around league play are enforced appropriately. Focus obviously has now turned to playoffs and ensuring everything is set from a League Operations perspective. The League Ops team have compiled a Playoff document that will provide useful information for players and teams. This will be released within the next day.

BROADCAST

It’s been exciting times in the Broadcast department. As the team start to get pumped up for the playoffs, there have been several improvements to Broadcast operations and output. Behind the scenes we have recently invested in VMIX. VMIX allows for greater flexibility and efficiency when it comes to running broadcasts and will allow us to take our broadcasts to new heights. This investment wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our great community!

On screen you will hopefully have been seeing some of the improvements the team have been working on. One in particular we are very happy with is the implementation of player stats during series. See the clip below from the Blizzard vs Hurricanes Foundation League series to see it in action!

The Broadcast team are continually working to implement extra features that improve the quality and presentation of streams. There’s lots more in-store for broadcasts for the future! The team feel there have great strides made this season and there are some “massive projects” in the works for next season.

In the nearer future Broadcast are working with Media team to ensure all franchise logos are incorporated into assets for the playoffs. Don’t forget we will have a special stream this Friday showing off the remaining logos yet to be revealed!

We hope these improvements will create greater engagement with streams and in tandem, increase viewing figures. There was a small increase in viewing figures during April compared to previous months. We hit a new peak for maximum viewers for the season and the average number of viewers for the month was up on the seasonal average.

Broadcast viewing and revenue stats for April & Season 10. Viewing figures do not take into account draft shows, revenue stats taken from 1st January.

Those figures don’t take into account the week 10 viewing figures, which saw a strong increase in viewing figures, with a new peak viewership achieved of 225 and an average viewing figures of well above 100 for the weekend. These figures also don’t take into account those who tuned into mlesportsgg2 over the weekend. Broadcast hope to utilise mlesportsgg2 much more frequently next season. We would like to take this moment to thank everyone for their support by tuning into streams, the support has been amazing!

Lastly here’s a look at some of the scheduling distribution stats. These stats include week 10 streams. All franchises were broadcasted at least once, with 27 out of the 32 franchises broadcast at least 3 times during the season. In total, 70.31% of teams were broadcast this season. We are relatively happy with the spread over the course of the season but realise there are a few gaps. We are looking to make significant changes to scheduling and series distribution for next season to allow for a more “even spread”.

Broadcast scheduling distribution for season 10.

And lastly, while Broadcast is focused on providing the best experience possible during the playoffs, the wheels are already in motion for Season 11. The team are always on the look out for new talent and support. If you fancy our hand at casting or broadcasting or perhaps supporting the team behind the scenes, feel free to reach out to one of the Broadcast “heads” about getting involved. The team are committed to supporting and developing talent, so don’t worry if you haven’t had much experience.

MEDIA

With the regular season drawing to conclusion the media team have been concentrating majority of their effort on playoff assets. We are looking to make this Seasons playoffs the “best looking” yet and a number of assets are currently in production that will be revealed on streams, website, social media, etc. over the course of the playoffs. To wet your appetites and provide a sneak peek, check the tab below here for a preview of “Road to Champion Series” graphic. These graphics will show each team in the playoffs “route” to the playoffs… and maybe Championship Series!

Road to Championship Series graphic

As promised, let’s take a deeper dive into the recently revealed franchise logos mentioned earlier. Our objective with the franchise logos was for a relatively clean style that erred more to a relative simplistic but focused look. One that would give each franchise a clear and unique image but one that fit in with the overall presentation of MLE.

In last months insight we went into some detail regards Spectre and Flames logo. Our own opinions and thoughts regarding Spectre logo have not changed and the feedback from the survey cemented those thoughts. The Flames however has seen a fair amount of discussion since the release and reception of the feedback from surveys. While we generally don’t want to make any drastic changes to many if any of the logos revealed we are not wholly opposed to changes if we feel necessary. Based on the feedback of the Flames logo we are looking into possible changes, however at this moment there is nothing concrete to announce.

The Spartans logo was pretty much an instantaneous hit upon first reveal. The design we felt while immediately obvious, was strong and bold. The logo did undergo one small alteration before being finalised to the logo that was revealed to the community. In the first draft of the logo the mane had a white “tip” that curved around part of top of the main. We felt this detail wasn’t necessary and also the extra colour didn’t fit with the overall design of the logo.

The Bulls logo was one logo that actually underwent a major redesign. The first draft of the logo was a “head on shot” of a Bulls head. While the logo wasn’t bad it was generally perceived to be not in keeping with our design and presentation objectives and requirements. One of the main criticisms was it felt a bit generic and aped a “Texan” aesthetic. The designer went back to the drawing board and came up with the current design, which met our expectations. One aspect we really like and think is key a component of the new logo is the sense of motion/charging, making it more dynamic than the previous design.

Bulls logo change

The Hawks logo underwent a few changes from its first draft. Those changes being the inclusion of white (the white eyes in the first draft are actually transparent) and the double outline. We felt the outline and the inclusion of white gave the logo more pop, helping to define its features such as the feathers and talons. These changes we felt improved the logo considerably. There were some concerns on the size, particularly the width of the logo however we feel it can be incorporated into MLE. This logo is one that has grown on TheGamingBear (President of MLE) considerably over time, “fun fact” for you there!

Hawks logo changes

Despite the Eclipse logo receiving mixed feedback, upon being revealed by the designer it was well received. We particularly liked the themes and feel of an Eclipse were present in the logo without being too obvious. While we know the design has split opinion in the community we feel over time a number of people will become more accustomed to it. We expect this to happen with a few of the logos. As they start to be incorporated into the league people will start to associate and relate them to the franchises over time.

The Wizards logo didn’t undergo much change from first draft to final design, with the only change being made in the beard department. The first draft had more “curly” elements to it, which was something we felt didn’t quite look right and the beard was made much smoother and fuller.

Wizards logo changes

The Hive logo made an instant impression on us when first shown by the designer. We felt the design was bold and striking. One element we particularly liked about the Hive logo was the somewhat “honeycomb” inspired outline. There wasn’t really anything we felt needed changing with the Hive logo so the design that was revealed was in fact the first iteration of the design shown to us.

The Sabres logo didn’t undergo any revisions from its first draft. There were some concerns regarding the nose however we felt it gave a “snarling”, fierce look to the logo.

The Express logo did undergo a few changes from its first draft. We felt the first draft provided a good foundation to develop the logo a bit further. We felt the inclusion of steam gave the logo more depth and identity, whilst changing the outline colour gave the logo more definition. Lastly we felt the train element of the logo was a bit too “wide and short” and the shape was adjusted to it’s final design.

Express logo changes

MARKETING

In the Marketing department, work has been ongoing to improve promotion on Social Media. It’s likely we will be looking for additional support in this area over the playoffs. Keep your eyes peeled for an announcement.

We will be looking to reinvest some of the revenue generated from different streams (merch, Twitch, etc.) into advertising and promotion going forward, as we feel it will help increase the exposure of MLE.

With the upcoming reveal of the remaining franchise logos, preparation is well underway to incorporate all the franchise logos on the store. All being well products will be available soon after the reveals. We know there has been a continuous interest in jerseys and this is something we are continuing to explore. It’s important we find the right supplier and distributor for such a product therefore it will likely take sometime before we come to a decision, most likely at least a few months. We can’t give any definitive time frames but we are committed to making it happen.

SPONSORSHIP

Not too much to report from a Sponsorship perspective, the team are settling under new guidance from Mobgaz. Emphasis right now is on reaching out to potential sponsors whilst maintaining existing sponsorship relationships. Don’t forget you can get free shipping on any order of BAWLS Guarana by using the promo code “MLE”. Perfect for some refreshment during the playoffs!

We had 3 community PowerA giveaways last month! Each lucky winner the recipient of a Spectra Enhanced Wired controller courtesy of our friends at PowerA. Check out the stats from each giveaway below!

PowerA controller giveaway community winners for April
WEBSITE

Over the past month the development team has been working closely with our broadcasting team to brighten up the scoreboard. By using the endpoints available from the website, we can pull in franchise and player data directly into the broadcast. SimpleAOB has been working on a robust control-board application for our casters. The team has also been working on a “Playoffs landing page”. Stay tuned for an announcement later this week. Looking further down the road, the team plan to add player’s salary, rank and other data to each profile.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

April saw a large amount of investment into MLE, most notably the final payments for franchise logos as well as a sizeable investment for broadcast. We are committed to ensuring revenue generated through Twitch, Patreon and merch is reinvested back into the league that improves the quality of our output and also benefits the community as a whole. Now that franchise logos are complete we can focus on other areas such as broadcast, where we can reinvest revenue. The infographic below shows the distribution of revenue reinvested for the season so far.


And that concludes the Monthly Insight for April! It’s been a busy month behind the scenes. We hope you have enjoyed this insight behind the scenes. We strive to make them as informative and interesting as possible. If there is anything you would like to see or hear about please feel free to send your suggestions via the usual formats.

As we enter the Playoffs and concluding weeks of the Season, the excitement grows and we can’t wait to finish the season with a bang! There’s lots in store and we wish all those competing in the playoffs the best of luck. And to those teams and players that didn’t make it we hope you enjoyed the season regardless and are itching for Season 11 to come around. So folks, fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride! It’s destination Season 10 Playoffs!

Thanks for reading,
from everyone at Minor League Esports

Inside MLE: March Monthly Insight

Welcome to the latest instalment of MLE Monthly Insight; an in-depth look behind the scenes at the different areas of MLE. In these articles we will look to give you, the community a peep behind the scenes, to see what’s happening and potentially what’s coming. So let’s get to it…

Community

There’s been a fair bit going down on in Community Town this past month. No doubt many of you will have seen some of the surveys going out including the “sentiment survey” and the recent logo survey. Thank you to all those people that have responded to either or both of the surveys. The feedback provided has been very insightful and is helping to structure some of our plans and and shaping our internal discussions.

The sentiment survey has given us some very useful feedback and highlighted areas where we can make improvements. The survey did highlight some concerns, criticisms of the communication regarding logos, which we believe was largely based on communication early on in the process (Season 8 and fair portion of Season 9). We agree communication could have been better during that period but since then we have made continual improvements, especially since the release of the “logo limbo” insight article posted August, 2019.

Segueing into the logo survey, we received a good level response. We will be looking to publish survey for each “batch” of logos revealed. This gives the community a better chance to digest each logo and provide clearer feedback for us. We will “talk” a bit more about the design elements of logos later on in this article under the media section but we wanted to take this opportunity to share general consensus so far.

The general consensus based on the feedback has been generally positive with some great feedback been provided on not only our communication and the logos process but on the logos themselves. We’ve seen a fair amount of conflicting opinions this past week since 6 of the franchise logos were revealed. The infographic below gives an overall summary of general consensus on the first 4 logos revealed, which formed the bulk of the survey.

Ratings for each logo from the survey so far. Like-dislike ratio based on ratings of 1 & 2 being dislike and 4 & 5 being like. Ratings of 3rd April.

Looking into the feedback at more detail for each logo revealed some common themes. For the Aviators logo, the community generally liked the simplicity of the logo in particular the clean lines & “wings” element of the logo. A proportion of people were unsure of the A/chevron and a few people were hoping the logo would incorporate a plane or pilot in some form.

The Blizzard logo was the most divisive. People generally liked the level of detail and the colours of logo but the biggest area of contention was with the use of a Yeti for the logo, with a noticeable proportion of people saying they didn’t really associate the image of a Yeti with the franchise.

The Comets logo has received a positive reception with most people liking the simplicity and bright colours of the logo. One notable criticism made was the use of the letter c being used to represent a comet itself.

Lastly the Demolition was the best received out of the 4. People generally agreed the style and design suited the franchise, stating the logo gave the franchise character. The main criticism of the logo is the colour scheme itself.

So that’s a summary of the voting so far. A big thank you to everyone who provided feedback. But what does this feedback mean going forward? Well it’s unlikely to have any immediate and direct changes. While we know there have been contrasting opinions on the logos, some more than others, the general consensus appears to be positive, which we are happy to report. Of course this doesn’t mean these logos can’t or won’t change over time but for the immediate future we want to give them, and those still to be released, time to embed into MLE. As we saw during the MLD era logos did develop and evolve over time and we are always committed to improving where possible. For now though we hope people are enjoying the reveals and we look forward to revealing more over the coming weeks.

Of course Community isn’t just about surveys. One area of MLE that some people may not think about is the admissions process. Our admissions team have been working consistently throughout the season to ensure a steady stream of new faces join the community, so a big welcome to all those that have joined us this past few month. We thought we would use this opportunity to provide some statistics and a brief overview of the process that give an insight into how involved the admissions team are.

The admissions process is essentially split into 3 phases:

  • Application: where a person applies to join MLE. Their form is then reviewed & processed by admin team. During this phase the admin team will be looking through all relevant information provided on the form, such as RL tracker, Twitter, Steam account, etc. A decision on whether to approve an application will then be made.
  • Interview: after an applicant has been approved and joins the admission server they are then interviewed by a member of MLE admissions team to see if they are a good fit for the community.
  • Orientation: after being interviewed, should an applicant be deemed as a good fit they are then invited to an orientation session. Here a member of the admissions team provides important and relevant information to support and help applicants before they join the MLE server.

Hopefully those stats give an indication of the work load of the admissions team as well as the amount of people “coming through the doors”. A big thank you to our admissions team for all their work in keeping a steady stream of new, excitable faces into our community.

LEAGUE OPERATIONS

Not too much from League Operations perspective to report this month. It’s all relatively business as usual as focus is on day-to-day operations such as scheduling, transactions (roster changes, rank ups, etc.) and resolving any issues that arise from competitive action.

There are two points worth noting though. The first being the new ineligibility system, which required rebuilding the database and spreadsheet structure entirely to be able to account for salary on a daily basis. Huge shout out to Peytoneli for his work on this. The second point is the Statistics Team bringing on kcscrag to help with data entry, and Squanchy to rebuild his excellent standings sheet in MLE-form. Expect that to be released in the coming days.

Focus will soon start to turn to playoffs and ensuring everything is in place to ensure as smooth operation as possible. This will include coordinating with broadcast team to determine scheduling responsibilities and ensuring General Managers are aware of the structure and any relevant information they need to know and pass onto their players.

BROADCAST

On a broadcast front improvements are continually being made and we have some exciting things in the works we are looking to bring in the near future that we think will increase the level of production.

This past month we put out a broadcast survey to gauge community opinion on broadcasts. A big thank you to everyone who replied so far, we had over 30 responses to date. For those who put their Twitch ID on the forms the free 100 reward points have been added to your accounts. Here are some of the key figures/results from the survey.

Results for following questions: “how often do you watch MLE streams?” (top-left), “on a scale of 1 to 5, how much do you enjoy MLE streams?” (top-right), “How would you rate the promotion of broadcasts?” (bottom-left), “Overall how would you rate the quality of casting?” (bottom-right)

Those are just some of the “key” results from the survey, there’s obviously a fair amount of feedback and ratings provided that we will detail. But a general summary from the survey can be that the results are positive with a few areas of improvement.  Obviously the results are from a small sample of the community but they provide a general indication of thoughts. We know not all 1400 community members watch streams, though we always hope they might :). 30 responses essentially reflects about 30-50% of viewers based on average and peak viewing figures. What’s great to see is nearly 75% of those who completed the survey said they watch 3 or more streams a month. This gives some validity to the results, as the majority of feedback is being provided by those who have more exposure to streams and therefore likely to be able to form stronger opinions.

Stream enjoyment is definitely something we are interested with. We want to make sure people enjoy watching the streams. Simply put, if people do they will likely tune in more. It’s clear though there is a proportion of people who feel we could be doing more to make streams more exciting and we are continually looking at ways to do just that.

Steam promotion is one area, which based on feedback could do with some improvement with the main points being about consistent promotion as well as ensuring broadcast schedule is posted well ahead of time. Ideally we want to have the broadcast schedule out by Friday of each week although there have been a couple of instances where perhaps we have not delivered to this timeframe. Something we will aim to rectify going forward.

Although not shown on the graphic, the survey included a number of questions regarding the presentation of broadcasts. The ratings were positive across the board, “good” counts as a rating of 4/5:
82% rated the quality of graphics at least good or better
87% rated the scoreboard at least good or better
91% rated the scoreboard at least good or better
90% rated the image quality of streams at least good or better
90% rated the smoothness and stability of the action at least good or better

Great results across the board and a true testament to the fantastic work behind the scenes to make our broadcasts look awesome! But we won’t rest on our laurels here, you can be sure we will continually be making improvements over time.

In terms of casting, the response was generally positive as well however a few issues were brought up, which the broadcast team will be looking to address. Primarily there will be even more focus on caster training and development, ensuring budding casters aren’t “thrown into the deep” end too soon. That being said the availability and levels of resource when it comes to broadcasting talent can sometimes be limited. It means we have to give those with perhaps as not much experience a chance. That concludes our look at the broadcast survey, please don’t be afraid to submit more feedback or fill out a form if you haven’t already done so.

Moving on from the survey. We know the broadcast schedule can create some debate and discussion in the community. The majority of franchises and subsequently the teams and players that represent them all hope to feature on stream. From an organisational perspective we try to balance giving each franchise exposure, each of the four leagues coverage and also try to put the best match ups on stream. Before we go into this in more detail let’s look at some stats surrounding broadcast scheduling for the season up till the end of March.

At the end of last month, 75% of franchises (24 out of 32) had featured on stream at least once. During March, 7 of those franchises featured on stream at least once, meaning 96.8% (31 out of 32) franchises have been streamed. The Sabres, the only franchise to have not been streamed, were streamed this weekend (April 4th) so that figure now sits at 100%, which is great, with still 3 weeks of regular season broadcasts left. It’s difficult to ensure an even spread amongst franchises due to the flexibility of our scheduling system, which allows series to be scheduled any time within a set period, Thursday-Saturday, not including “double header series”. The only way to ensure an almost even spread would be to implement hard-scheduling however this would restrict players to only be allowed play at certain times.

We are continually looking at our scheduling system and seeing where improvements can be made. It’s definitely something that will be reviewed in the off-season to see if any improvements can be made that benefit and balance things from an organisational, franchise and player perspective.

Lastly over to viewing figures for March. They were slightly down compared to the rest of the season however we are not too concerned and are confident viewer numbers will pick up going into the business end of league play. Big thank you to anyone who choses to tune into the MLE Network at any point. We appreciate the support and hope you enjoy the content.

MEDIA

Naturally there is a lot of focus on the franchise logos currently as they start to be revealed. So far 6 logos have been revealed: Aviators, Blizzard, Comets, Demolition, Flames & Spectre. Hopefully these logos have given everyone an idea of the general style we have tried to implement. Our vision and objective with the franchise logos was to have clean, relatively simplistic logos that gave each franchise an identity, whilst still feeling part of MLE. We wanted to stray away from the “generic” esports style logos that seem common place, as we felt they don’t really fit in with the identity of MLE. We thought we would take this moment to give a brief insight behind each logo revealed so far. The people involved in MLE hierarchy with the logo process were all Leadership and Council members, including advisors, as well as Goofy (Media coordinator) and Sleegi (Broadcast & Marketing coordinator).

The Aviators logo was the first logo created. This was done back in September 2019. We felt the simplicity of the design was one of the main positives. Not encumbered with too much detail but something straight, clear and bold. The “wing” element and the stylised chevron give the logo that identity and relatability to the Aviators without being directly obvious.

The Blizzard logo took many of us by surprise at first as like many, we didn’t naturally think of a Yeti. That being said it immediately became obvious to us and we could see the relevance. It soon felt like a unique twist, avoiding the trappings of the old snowsept mountain logo. It has divided opinion in the community however we are confident with time it will grow on people.

The Comets logo was one that pretty much was universally liked upon the first design being shown. The bold, bright colours mixed in with the imagery felt a natural fit for the franchise. The logo did undergo a small revision however as the “trail” was much longer and we envisioned this may be problematic for merch, graphics, etc. and so the designer reduced the length of to it’s now current state. For a bit of fun, we have popped the original logo below (behind a spoiler, what teases!)

reveal logo
original Comets logo

The Demolition logo was also well received upon being shown to us by the designer. We felt the mischievous look of the logo felt in keeping with the Demolition franchise, one that is associated with a bit of craziness and mayhem.

The Spectre logo, revealed this past weekend, dubbed “lil’ spooky boi”, was also generally well received. We all felt the logo had personality and seemed to fit the identity of the franchise; spooky but with a hint of playfulness that avoided the logo being too “dark” and out of touch with the overall presentational style.

Spectre logo
Spectre logo

The Flames logo, revealed on last night’s stream, was one of the more divisive logos amongst those of us involved in the process. Some of us really liked the simplicity and the fact the flames were stylised to look like an F, while others felt perhaps it needed more detail. We decided to keep the logo as it was for the time being. Throughout the process we have been conscious about time and we wanted to ensure time wasn’t being wasted “perfecting” a logo, when that time could have been used to start/develop others. Of course this doesn’t mean we said yes to every 1st draft going, the Flames was one of the logos which did undergo a slight tweak, which saw the Flames being made thicker.

Flames logo
Flames logo

After revealing these logos we have had many questions, enquiries, etc. around the whole logo design process, especially from the survey. If you have not seen it already a new channel, #logo-faq, has been created in the Discord server to answer some of the common questions asked. Hopefully this provides more clarity to the process and giving an extra level of detail to it. Don’t forget all logo reveals can be viewed on YouTube too!

Lastly we have seen some misinformation stated regarding the cost of logos. Previously we have held back discussing this however now that logos are starting to be revealed we know feel it’s the right time to offer some insight to this. Both designers we are working with offered very attractive and fair rates, which worked out at $62.50 per logo. Simple maths $62.50 x 32 is $2000. We are very happy with the quality of output in relation to the cost of production, especially considering some quotes we received while researching were 2-3 times higher than this. We would like to take this moment to thank both designers for their efforts and are looking forward to giving them the acknowledgement and respect once all 32 are revealed.

On the subject of revealing the logos we are currently revealing two a week, one at the end of every stream. We are hoping to increase this rate with a view to having all 32 released by the Championship series, though this is dependant on time and resource available. Regardless of if we can make that target, all 32 logos will be ready to go (barring any unforeseen circumstances) for Season 11.

Of course Media isn’t all about logos. The team have been working as always to ensure weekly tasks are completed and focus is now starting to shift towards playoffs. Behind the scenes Goofy is in coordination with Broadcast to bring some exciting things to stream, which we hope to bring to you in the near future. There is also a focus to automate some assets to allow for more efficient processes and working. This last week the Conference standings graphics you see on screen can now be automatically filled with the relevant stats, saving time and resource that can be spent improving elements. Big thanks to AOB for his work on making that happen.

MARKETING

It’s relatively quiet in terms of Marketing the team are currently looking towards playoffs and beyond in terms of plans. We are also reviewing our Social media interactivity and processes around it. The aim is to create a more streamlined and productive way of working, which will help us be more consistent in our promotion and activity on Social Media.

On the merch side of things the store saw a very quiet month with only 1 sale. This was to be predicted somewhat as new logos start to roll into town, there’s no doubt people will be waiting for these to be released before purchasing merch. We are hoping to add some new designs in the meantime however so keep your eyes peeled for further news on that. Unfortunately due to current coronavirus pandemic, Spreadshirt has stopped promotions (i.e. sale periods) for the foreseeable future. This is to ensure they can meet demand while also ensuring safe-working. More information can be found here.

Latest merch info. Please note there was an error with total no. of sales shown on Februarys graphic that didn’t account for 11 sales.
SPONSORSHIP

There has been a change in the Sponsorship team. Therealmobagz (yup not that fake one) has recently come on board as the new Sponsorship Coordinator taking over from Scoobert. We would like to take this moment to say thank you to Scoobert for all his work and effort during his time as Sponsorship Coordinator. Mobagz has been on the team for a while and we have full confidence he will help lead and direct the Sponsorship team.

Things have been inevitably quiet for Sponsorship whilst the change took place. The main priority for the team during this time is to maintain existing relationships and ensure any agreements are suitably met and delivered.

There was just one PowerA giveaway last month due to the bye week. VoidRL was the lucky community member who won themselves an awesome Spectra Enhanced Wired Xbox One controller. Due to the changes in the Sponsorship team there was a delay on sending out the controllers but they will soon start to be sent out to winners. We still have more PowerA giveaways coming, with 4 more Spectra controllers to give away over the course of the regular season! Congratulations to Atokad, who won this weekends giveaway!

WEBSITE

Our website is a key component of league for many reasons and there is always something happening behind the scenes when it comes to the development of it. This past month TeaBoneJones joined the website development team and he will be working on an exciting feature. Each player’s salary and rank will be available on their profile and be updated frequently so the information does not become outdated. This is something we know a number of people have requested.

We are also considering getting the content train back up and running again. If you have a passion or interest in journalism/writing and feel you could produce regular, engaging content on behalf of MLE for the website then please reach out TheGamingBear.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

As our community has grown there has been increasing interest in how things work behind the scenes and specifically where the revenue generated from Twitch, Patreon and merchandise is used. As stated frequently, revenue has mainly been used for the creation and development for logos for our 32 franchises. But we thought we would give a bit more insight into where the revenue is used and how it is essentially split. The information provided in the graphic below doesn’t account for all revenue, but more the distribution of the revenue that has been used this season.

Not all revenue that has been generated has been used. We essentially have managed revenue for future investments and projects. We are conscious of using any revenue wisely, ensuring any use of the revenue is beneficial and worthwhile. As you can see from the infographic revenue so far this season has only been used for a small number of aspects. As we near the completion of logos we can now start to look at other projects and potential investments.

In last month’s insight you may remember a brief mention regarding Patreon and a purpose to breath new life into it. As you know the world has somewhat changed this past month and we felt it best to hold off any changes for the time being. We didn’t feel it quite right promoting Patreon during this period of uncertainty. Of course we know Patreon is completely voluntary but at the same time we want to ensure people focus on what’s really important.

For those current Patreons we appreciate your continued support and we aren’t forgetting about you we can assure you. Your support has directly helped MLE, helping us fund such projects as franchise logos and ensuring we can keep services such as the website running. And while we but plans to refresh Patreon on a small hiatus you can be rest assured it gives more time to improve those changes.

So lastly we wanted to take this moment to reflect a bit on the state of things and how it effects MLE. Obviously as an online Esports organisation our operations aren’t really affected. However we know the situation is affecting many of our community members. While MLE can’t solve everyones’ problems we do want to encourage people in community to come together and support one and another through it. We have a great community built on respect and strong values, and in such testing times the strength and value of the community can be a great source of support for the people in it. So remember be kind, be respectful. Have fun and most importantly right now stay safe.

Thanks for reading,
from everyone at Minor League Esports

Inside MLE: February Monthly Insight

Welcome to the latest instalment of MLE Monthly Insight; an in-depth look behind the scenes at the different areas of MLE. In these articles we will look to give you, the community a peep behind the scenes, to see what’s happening and potentially what’s coming. So let’s get to it…

Community

Since the last insight Stovvadz has been installed as Community Director. The primary reasons behind this was to give Stovvadz more responsibility within MLE and to bolster Community operations. We are placing more than ever a greater focus on the Community, working on improving engagement and interaction. Part of those improvements have seen the Community team discuss potential surveys, which saw the release of a community survey regarding the Discord server. From this survey we have made a few changes such as merging two training channels into one, removing the redundant coaching role and looking to breath new life into the Hall of Fame amongst other things.

A new Community survey is planned to be released within the coming days. This survey will allow the Community to provide feedback on topics such as transparency, staff interactions with the community, and various other important topics. We appreciate any feedback we get and the more people that provide it the better we can act upon it and look to make improvements from it.

The Community team is also hard at work looking at how to improve how suggestions are handled. We were looking into using EMILIO (Riz’s lovechildbot) to create a new suggestion system. This has proved trickier than first thought and would be difficult to implement all the functionality we would require. Instead of implementing a bot system some upgrades have been made to the current suggestions tracker based on feedback & suggestions.

We are delighted with the response and attendance to the Council Q&As. We hope the Community have enjoyed them so far. Going forward we will look to try hold these at least bi-weekly if not more often, with at least a couple of Council members in attendance at each Q&A. Some of you maybe wondering if this signals the death of the Town Hall? Well after reviewing our operations we have decided to focus Town Halls for the off-season, when there is usually a greater influx of new members to MLE, as well as a number of organisational changes (i.e. rules, structure, etc.).

Elsewhere in the Community team, the events team has not had much success with events so far this season, with low sign-up numbers a problem. The team are committed to providing engaging and entertaining events for the community and are looking at ways to make events more attractive.

Admissions has been running smoothly, with a steady flow of new people joining the community. As always we welcome those joining and hope you enjoy being part of MLE.

Play of the Week activity has been slightly disappointing in terms of voting this season, with approximately 20 valid votes each week. We are looking at ways to improve visibility of Play of the Week and make the process more straight forward. Don’t forget You can see all the Plays of the Week winners from this Season and previous ones on YouTube.

LEAGUE OPERATIONS

Now the Season is well under way, the primary “grind” for League Ops has started. The bulk of League Ops daily work is transactions and ranks, ensuring these are dealt with efficiently and processed correctly. The start of the season always provides a few unique challenges. One of the main ones this season is a result of the change of uploading replays instead of result screenshots. There’s been a few struggles acclimating to this change but things have improved over the past few weeks and the process has become almost routine for all involved. This is only possible thanks to the efforts of the statistics team and General Managers, so thank you to all involved for their work & co-operation.

League Ops is always looking at General Managers responsibilities and how they can be simplified/made easier. With this in mind the team implemented new GM support roles including Captains & Public Relations support. These additions appear to be well received and the League Ops team is very pleased with the results fo far.

One issue the team encountered in Week 1 was with regards the server reset rules. The team addressed these by rewriting the “Once Underway” section of the rule book to better explain the process following a reset request. To our knowledge, no issues akin to what happened in Week 1 have occurred since.

Looking forward, League Ops current goals for the coming weeks include upping support for the developers team, in an effort to begin displaying on our website the work stats team has done assembling MLE’s historical data in a readable and usable fashion. This process is likely to take quite some time, but it is a daily effort from the developer team and stats team alike. They are also working on a way to open up the replays we’re collecting for community use. And finally, EMILIO is an ongoing project that League Ops intend to, one day, appoint as Supreme Ruler of League Operations.

BROADCAST

The Broadcast team has had a good start to the Season, and despite a few minor issues, have set a good foundation going forward. Very recently our Broadcast operations received a big boost thanks to Simple_Aob who has developed a system, which essentially automates key parts of our broadcast such as transitions. This system will mean, in theory, we have a greater pool of broadcasters to call upon. It also will help deliver a more consistent quality of broadcasts. So a big “nice one!” goes to Aob for implementing this for us. We have also implemented a new system for updating our scoreboard, which also simplifies the process for Broadcasters. These improvements have given us a strong platform to build upon and we are now looking at ways how we can improve our output.

Viewer numbers for the Season so far have been decent however we would like streams to consistently achieve an average of 100 viewers. We are always looking at ways to increase the attraction of broadcasts and are open to suggestions. We would like to encourage more people, especially franchise accounts, to retweet the official broadcast schedule posted on Twitter each week. This will help provide more exposure, especially in the Rocket League community. The infographic below shows viewing figures for past month and Season 10 as a whole up to now, as well as revenue generated (please note this does not take into account any commission Twitch receives).

Broadcast viewer and revenue figures. Seasonal viewing figures do not take into account draft streams but revenue figures taken from 1st January. Figures correct as of 6th March.

The Affiliate program has had a good start to the season as well, with Riyo doing an excellent job leading that side of Broadcast. We currently have a good number of people in the program close to becoming verified, which will mean more Affiliate Broadcasts! We are looking into ways we can improve the exposure of verified broadcasts. Part of the “problem” is Affiliate Broadcasts don’t follow a set schedule as do Official Broadcasts. This means we are not always sure how many Affiliate Broadcasts there will be each week and when they will be. This makes promotion a little less straight forward but not impossible. Two ways we will promote such streams are through announcements, as well as posting Affiliate Broadcasts for that week in the broadcast-schedule channel.

One element of Broadcast operations that has been discussed in the community recently is that of Broadcast series scheduling/allocation. We understand there’s a desire for teams to get a fair share of screen time and we will endeavour to achieve this were possible. Due to the manner of how series are scheduled it is not straight forward to ensure an equal spread of series amongst teams. Bearing in mind there are only 6 “stream slots” each week, which means a total of 12 teams can be streamed each week. With 10 weekends of broadcast action, which essentially means there are 60 stream slots, so there are 120 opportunities for a team to be selected. There are 112 teams in MLE (split amongst the 32 franchises), which means in theory each team could be streamed once, but for that to happen would there would need to be “perfect scheduling” (i.e. teams scheduling in broadcast times every week). Therefore it’s somewhat an impossible task so we have to strike a balance between fairness as well as ensuring the best matches are shown. The infographic below gives some detail on the broadcast spread so far this season.

Broadcast series scheduling information for the season so far.
MEDIA

Our media team has been mainly focused on cranking out the weekly assets, such as Stars of the Week, Play of the Week, etc. We have also implemented Conference standings graphics for each league, which those who tuned into the Week 3 Broadcasts will have seen (see example below). We are looking to implement more stats/info based graphics as the season progresses.

Academy League Standings going into week 2.

The team has undergone a small restructure with the addition of Wheezy to the team, whilst Porkchop and TeaBoneJones stepped down. We would like to take this moment to thank them both for their support. Wheezy brings years of expertise and knowledge that we hope will help improve our visual output.

We know everyone is eager to know more logo progress. We currently sit at 16 of the 32 logos complete, halfway there! We are really happy with the quality of the logos produced so far and look forward to seeing the remaining 16 completed. We know progress has perhaps been slower than people hoped/expected and in full honesty we would have liked the progress to be a bit quicker but we didn’t want to compromise on quality & style. With that being said we are looking into speeding up the development, with an eye to ensure all logos are complete by the end of the Season and ready to roll out for Season 11, if not earlier.

MARKETING

The Marketing department has had a somewhat slow start to the season but plans are in place to increase productivity and output. The merch store will see some new designs coming in the near future. We had planned to release them in good time for RLCS, to give anyone who was attending an opportunity to rep MLE and their favourite franchise. Sadly with the cancellation of RLCS has somewhat hampered our plans but we still plan on releasing these designs soon. We are quite happy with the results of the merch store in terms of sales since its “doors opened”.  We would like to thank all those that have support MLE via buying merch, your support has directly been invested into MLE. You can see some interesting merch data in the infographic below as well as upcoming offers. While we are generally happy with the merch store we are exploring the possibility of changing our store front as we recognise some of the limitations our current store has.

Revenue as of March 6th, 2020

In terms of Social Media, we are looking at increasing our output across all forms: Twitter, Instagram & Facebook with a view to becoming active on others. Hellyaman is currently revising the workflow in terms of Social Media output to ensure there is a consistent quality and frequency of content. In a recent meeting, franchise activity on Twitter was discussed. We are generally pleased with the levels of activity shown by franchises on Twitter and hope this continues through the season. We realise that Tweetdeck isn’t the most functional platform to post content on Twitter and are looking at how we can improve this interactivity those tweeting on franchise accounts have.

The Marketing team are also already looking ahead to the off-season and Season 11 with a view to generating more interest in and exposure for MLE, utilising visual media, such as hype videos, where possible.

SPONSORSHIP

There’s not too much happening with Sponsorship team at the moment now the Season has started. Focus is on ensuring the agreements and relationships between MLE and our sponsors are maintained. The team had hoped to acquire another sponsor for this season but ultimately a deal fell through. However we are very happy to continue to work with BAWLS & PowerA.

The community PowerA giveaway seems to be going well, with decent number of entries for both draws. There will be 6 more community draws during the regular season as well as 4 draws during the playoffs, which will be open to those outside the community. Check out some interesting stats behind the 2 giveaways. Just goes to show anyone in the community can win, regardless of how many tickets you acquire.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

We are currently in process of refreshing our Patreon with a view to offering more incentives and rewards. So far, the majority of revenue generated so far from Patroen, Twitch and merch has gone towards logos. We are now starting to focusing on ways we can invest future revenue and have a number of ideas/plans. We believe Patreon can be a great way to generate such revenue providing the community a level of transparency in terms of goals and rewarding them for their support. The finer details of this “refresh” are being ironed out with an announcement expected to happen in the very near future.

We are continually looking at ways to improve our website and have a few plans in place, such as a Community section. However priority right now is to sort out a few minor issues on the website, most notably the player “team issue” i.e. where players are assigned to the wrong teams.

And lastly back to the franchise logos. Our plan was to announce/show all 32 in a big, exciting event once they were all complete. However we have decided to change our tack and over the course of this season will be showing off a few at time. And what better time than now to show off one of the first logos that was created… the Aviators! We will let the logo do the talking first…

REVEAL LOGO


So there you have it; the first revealed franchise logo. This logo incorporates the presentational style we wanted; clean, relatively minimalistic but bold. We feel the presentational style applied to all logos allows for each franchise to emphasise their identity whilst feeling part of the MLE brand as a whole. We hope you like it and are looking forward to seeing more logos down the line. Please note while we will be releasing these logos they won’t be incorporated into MLE (I.e. Twitter pfps, on website, in graphics, etc.) until all 32 have been revealed. Thanks once again for your patience and most importantly your support during the logo creation process. The end is in sight and we can’t wait to see all the new logos in “action”.

So there you have it folks. We hope you enjoyed this insight, we took no board feedback from the last insight as well as analysing areas we could make it more informative and insightful. Till next month, have fun out there!

Inside MLE: January Monthly Insight

Welcome to the first MLE Monthly Insight; an in-depth look behind the scenes at the different areas of MLE. In these articles we will look to give you, the community a peep behind the scenes, to see what’s happening and potentially what’s coming. So let’s get to it…

Community

On the back of recent discussions in the community, we have been reviewing how we interact with the community and how we can improve such interactions. One way we communicate with the community is via Town Halls and when these have been run they have generally been quite successful. That being said there have only been a few Town Halls since their introduction and it has become apparent that perhaps the format of Town Halls isn’t quite as productive as it could be. We are currently revising Town Halls and looking at ways we can improve them.

As you will have seen we are introducing weekly Council Q&A’s. These will be smaller, less “all encompassing” meetings than Town Halls held by council members on a weekly basis. These Q&A’s will allow for community members to ask questions directly to the council. The first Council Q&A will be held by TyTy tonight at 7pm ET.

This doesn’t mean Town Halls will disappear completely but the introduction of the Q&A’s will allow for more focused opportunities for the community to interact with MLE. There are plans to improve how suggestions submitted via submission form are handled, with a view to implementing status updates on suggestions. Lastly we will be looking at having more concentrated community surveys throughout the season to really gauge community opinions.

On the events front, the team have taken this off-season to review operations, hence why there haven’t been any events since “12 Days of Christmas”. Captains Clash will return this season but will now happen on Wednesday evenings. The events team are also looking to run a pre-season event for each league as we build up to the start of the season. There are plans to try do some events based on different Rocket Leagues modes however these can only happen with enough community interest & participation. Hopefully we can increase the levels of participation this season and the introduction of an “opt-in” Events role should provide more direct attention to events. If you are interested in taking part in MLE events type the following command into the #command-center channel: !rank Events.

Lastly, Fittz is working on the return of the MLE Fantasy League and will have an announcement within the coming days.

LEAGUE OPERATIONS

With the draft now done & dusted, League Operations will now start to shift their focus to day-to-day operations; player trades, roster, changes, etc. The League Ops team still have a few things to implement and announce. One major new addition to Season 10 will be a Scheduling Server for GMs. The aim of the server is to provide an environment that centralizes communications between franchises for match scheduling.

The MLE Multi-Tool, a spreadsheet that acts as a quick reference for season fixture schedule, match times and dates, and pairing uses/reserve uses is close to being completed. The League Ops team are also close to finishing work on the MLE Scheduler, a tool for GMs to use to help coordinate their players’ schedules within the franchise.

Lastly League Ops are exploring additional support for GMs. As MLE has grown the demand, responsibilities and expectations on GMs has also increased. We want to ensure we do our best to help those who are passionate about MLE and the franchise GM’s definitely fit this criteria. We will provide more info when the exact details of the additional support have been finalised.

BROADCAST

The Broadcast team has slowly been taking shape in this off season and a new organisational structure has been put in place to ensure Broadcast Operations run smoothly. Sleegi & Theevilisback have come on board as Broadcast Coordinators, whilst Riyo will be overseeing Affiliates and InanimateJ has come back into the fold in an advisory role.

The main objective for Broadcast this season is to ensure a consistent quality of broadcasts throughout the season, which will help to provide a platform for Production for which to develop on. On top of this we want to help nurture broadcast talent, providing a pathway for talented and enthusiastic individuals to become involved with Official Broadcasts. We are hoping the application form posted in community announcements this week will help attract such individuals. We will be reviewing the applications received so far this week, thank you to all those that have applied.

There are unlikely to many drastic changes to Broadcasts this season, at least in the short term, bar a few aesthetic changes here and as of writing Broadcasts will follow same structure as last season; 3 series Saturday & Sunday evenings starting from 8pm ET.

MEDIA

Whilst we patiently wait the creation of the new team logos, the Media team has been focused on reviewing and updating assets as well as looking to implement a few new things on the way. Whenever assets are updated or created the aim is to always ensure the presentational style is consistent. No doubt you will start to see some of these improvements as we near the start of the season. We will have an update on franchise logos very soon.

MARKETING

With the recent addition of Gogurt as Marketing Coordinator, the Marketing team are currently discussing and devising plans for the season ahead and beyond. While there is not much to report as of this moment we can assure you there will be a much better focus on marketing efforts. It is important for the growth and future of MLE to ensure we are always attracting new people to the community and increasing the interest in MLE as a whole.

SPONSORSHIP

We are hoping to retain BAWLS and PowerA as sponsors for Season 10 and discussions are on going at present. Both BAWLS & PowerA have become synonymous with MLE these past few seasons and hopefully this will continue going forward. Negotiations with both sponsors are close to being finalised, with BAWLS expected to continue sponsoring Play of the Week. The sponsorship team are also looking at possibility of bringing in a few other sponsors as well but as of this moment there is nothing definitive to announce.

FINAL WORD

That wraps up the first MLE Monthly Insight, we hope you enjoyed the content & insight into MLE operations. We will look to produce these on a monthly basis to keep you, the MLE Community, updated on what’s going on behind the scenes. Obviously some months some areas might have as much to report but where possible we will keep you as informed as much as we can. Going forward we will try incorporate a bit more media when possible to make these articles more engaging.

Thank you for reading, we hope you found the information interesting. Please feel free to provide any feedback/suggestions on these Monthly Insights. Your opinions will help to shape the content, structure, etc. Until next time… have fun!

 

MLE News: Season 10 Update!

the festive is season is coming to a close but as the New Year draws near so does Season 10…


Season 10

2020 will see the start of 10th season of MLE and it promises to be an epic one! We know a lot of people have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of the start of the season and we are happy to announce that the competitive action will start on February 13th! Below is a list of key dates for Season 10 (please note these dates are provisional and maybe subject to change).

Season 10 Key Dates:

Player Drafts: January 25th & 26th
Week 1: February 13th-16th
Playoffs: Begin weekend of 9th & 10th May
Season 10 Championship Series weekend: 30 & 31st May

Full schedule for Season 10 will be released soon. The date for the Draft Lottery, which decides the order for each League’s draft, is to be confirmed.

If you are interested in joining our community with the possibility of playing in Season 10 fill out an application form! There’s nothing to lose and you could be representing one of the 32 franchises in Season 10!

There will be lots more info coming regards Season 10, including important changes.


FRANCHISE LOGOS

10 franchise logos have now been completed with a further 2 currently in creation. Progress has been somewhat slower recently due to other commitments and projects undertaken by the designer but we are very happy with the quality of the logos. We are an adopting a quality over quantity/speed approach. The franchises with completed logos so far are: Aviators, Bears, Blizzard, Bulls, Comets, Demolition, Dodgers, Eclipse, Elite & Spectre.


SEASON 9

As Season 10 starts to take shape you will notice some changes on the website, most notably the archiving of Season 9 standings & stats. Don’t worry they won’t completely disappear but will be moved to the “Season” section.


COMMUNITY NEWS

 

BROADCASTING & MARKETING COORDINATOR OPPORTUNITIES

As we prepare for Season 10 a couple of coordinator positions have become available (please note these positions are only available to those in the community).

Broadcast Operations are undergoing an overhaul, with a new team in place to manage & oversee operations. As part of the restructure we are on the look out for a new Broadcast Coordinator who will join the current team; Sleegi (Broadcast Coordinator), Riyo (Affiliate Lead) & InanimateJ (Broadcast Advisor). The main objective of a Broadcast Coordinator is to ensure the smooth running of Broadcasts; making sure each Broadcast has sufficient support & those involved have the right information & support. If this sounds like something you can do and you have an interest in Broadcasting, Production, etc. as well as strong organisational and communication skills we want to hear from you!

We are also on the lookout for a new Marketing Coordinator. We are looking to improve our the consistency and quality of our promotional output, looking to further the exposure of MLE as a direct result of such. The Marketing Coordinator is instrumental in helping to achieve this as they will help create, lead and manage promotions and campaigns with the assistance of the Marketing team. If this sounds like something you can do and you have a strong interest in Marketing along with an enthusiastic & proactive attitude then please fill out an application form linked in the corresponding post in Discord.


SEASON 10 FAQ CHANNEL

Keep your eyes peeled on the Season-10-FAQ- channel in Discord under “MLE Home” category for updates regards Season 10. This channel will act as reference for those in the Community of all the vital information for Season 10 such as key dates, team salaries, etc. We will also be updating the League-Info channel soon!


FINAL WORD

2019 is nearly over but we just wanted to take this moment to wish everyone a Happy New Year and start getting everyone excited for the upcoming season! Lots is happening behind the scenes and these efforts will soon become apparent.

As always keep those peepers peeled to this site as well as our Twitter account for the latest news & happenings. Until next time…

Have fun & Happy New Year,

Minor League Esports

 

MLE News: New Champions, All-Star Series & More!

roll up, roll up! It’s an MLE news extravaganza!


SEASON 9 Champions Crowned!

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past week then you will know 4 new champions were crowned the weekend before last!

Foundation League Champions: Tyrants

Academy League Champions: Flames

Champion League Champions: Rhinos

Premier League Champions: Elite

The Flames and Rhinos both managed to break their “Championship ducts” by winning the first Championship titles in their history. The Tyrants added to their Season 8 success when they won the Champion League, by adding the Foundation League trophy to their cabinet. And last but not least the Elite added another success to their illustrious history. Winning the Premier League title gave the franchise their 3rd Championship trophy, after winning Championship titles back in Season 1 & 3.

It was a great weekend of action with 3 of the 4 Championship Series going to game 7 deciders! If you missed any of the action, check out our YouTube channel where you can see not only all the Championship Series but every broadcast series from this season!


POWERA GIVEAWAY WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

Our good friends and sponsors of MLE, PowerA, generously provided 14 Fusion Pro Wired Xbox One controllers to giveaway over the Championship Series Weekend! A big congratulations to the following…

Aida-Aposta, Americas_F1nest, antonioo77, ChefBaker,  djleance, Kirstiekfg, NoJuiceFTW, Ondofir, SINdalu, suzakutwitch, Therealmobagz, Tido4The5Gun, TrullsRohk, Wolfpack523

The winners are currently being finalised and all being well prizes will be shipped out soon. A big thank you once again to PowerA for their support.


ALL-STAR SERIES RETURNS!

Season 9 isn’t over yet! This Saturday evening the best players from each league face off in a “Battle of the Conferences”, as the Orange Conference take on the Blue Conference. Last season the Orange Conference took the bragging rights, beating their Blue counterparts over 20 games, 11-9!

This time around ZeeBee, General Manager of the Ducks, will seek revenge for the Blue Conference, as he leads his Blue stars into battle. Tasked with retaining Orange’s honour is Wizards General Manager, Isosolo. Who will come out top in this end of season showpiece? Tune in this Saturday from 7pm ET on the MLE Network to find out!


PLAY OF THE WEEK WINNERS!

The competitive play is over for another season, bar the All-Star Series, but there’s small matter of announcing the last two winners of Play of the Week (in case you missed them). A big thank you to BAWLS for their continued support this season and for sponsoring Play of the Week.

Conference Finals Winner: Cearu (Elite)

Championship Series Winner: O.G.S.R (Rhinos)


FRANCHISE LOGOS

There’s been some progress on the franchise logo front! 4 more logos have been completed with the overall total now sitting at 8, that’s a quarter of all the logos for all those mathematicians out there. Those 8 franchises are: Aviators, Bears, Blizzard, Bulls, Comets, Demolition, Elite, Spectre! Of course we will not be revealing the logos until all 32 are complete! Currently there’s no definitive timeline for when this will be but hopefully all 32 will be complete in the near future.


SGT & SCOOBY TAKE A BREAK

Wondering where those “loveable” scamps have been these past couple of Monday evenings? Well yes you would be right in thinking they have been shirking their responsibilities! No need to worry folks, Sgt. & Scoobs are taking a break from the “Sgt. Scooby Show” during the off-season. They will no doubt return in Season 10 and who knows they may do the odd special show before then.


COMMUNITY NEWS
COMMUNITY SURVEY

With another season done & dusted we want to get your thoughts. Accompanying this article in Discord will be a link to the Community Survey. Please take your time to fill this in as best you can. We appreciate all the feedback we receive and look to use it to improve what we do.


FINAL WORD

Phew what a season and what an end to the season! Big GGs and well played to those who competed in the Championship Series. Each final was full of dramatic moments, clutch plays & great teamwork. Full credit to all players for their efforts.

We would like to take this moment to thank everyone in the community for their involvement this season. From players to those helping out behind the scenes, Minor League Esports would be nothing without your support.

It’s been another great season and we are enthusiastic to start Season 10. The date of which is being finalised as we speak but expect it early next year. As always keep your eyes peeled here for the latest news and updates!

Have fun & see soon,

Minor League Esports

 

Championship Series PowerA Giveaway!

The MLE Season 9 Championship Weekend just got even hotter as our generous sponsors PowerA are supplying 14 quality Xbox One controllers to giveaway!

We will be giving away 7 PowerA Fusion Pro Wired Controllers for Xbox One (White variant)* on Saturday & Sunday! The giveaway will close at 9pm ET both nights with winners being announced at the end of each night’s stream.

To be enter Sundays giveaway visit here! *Winners from Saturday are ineligible to win for Sunday’s giveaway.

Saturday giveaway winners: Americas_F1nest, ChefBaker, Ondofir SINdalu, suzakutwitch, Therealmobagz & Tido4The5Gun.

A big thank you to PowerA for supporting us with this fantastic giveaway as well as their support throughout the season.

Don’t forget to tune into the MLE Network Season 9 Championship Series Weekend for all the action & excitement. Streams start at 7:45pm each night!

*Prize has been updated since launch of giveaway, original prize was for PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox One.

MLE Season 9 Championship Series Preview

With two days to go the Season 9 Championship Series weekend, it’s time to take a look at each series…


12 weeks of play has come and gone with hundreds of players representing the 32 franchises across 4 leagues. There’s been goals, whiffs, demos, high, lows, drama and a boat of load excitement but now only 2 teams remain in each of the four leagues. These teams now have one last series to overcome to be crowned MLE Champions but who’s fighting for the coveted crown? Let’s find out….

The Battle of Cunning vs Power

Both the Foxes and the Tyrants experienced Championship success as franchises last season; the Foxes claiming the Premier League title and the Tyrants taking the Champion League crown. Those glories signified each franchises’ first Championship win and no doubt they will be both hungry to add to it.

The Foxes could be seen as slight favourites having finished 2nd in the overall regular season standings, 1 place above the Tyrants, winning 4 more individual games. In reality there isn’t much to separate the two teams, this is the Championship Series after all! The Tyrants will be hoping GameStrike, who joined midway through the season, will continue his impressive form shown since joining. He will likely be paired with TheLouzer, the pair teaming up for their Orange Conference Semi-Finals win against the Pandas. The Foxes will likely field the pairing of FasterThanFalcon & K03, who played in both the Blue Conference Semi-Final & Conference Final victories. Their experience in big-game situations may come clutch come Saturday evening!

The Foundation League Championship Series will kick off the Championship Series Weekend at 8pm ET on Saturday!

 

Fire meets fight in the academy league

Two franchises who have yet to experience Championship glory have the chance to rectify this fact and write their name into MLE history!

The Flames go into the championship on the back of a very successful campaign not losing a series so far! Despite a slightly less impressive but still respectable 7-3 series regular season record, the Spartans only lost 1 individual game more than the Flames. The Flames will likely call upon the pairing of coversum & Eazuu who have played in each of the previous rounds and have been on the team for the vast majority of the season. They will no doubt go into the series full of confidence with nothing to fear.

The Spartans, having to come through one extra round than their opponents, have fielded 3 of their starters during the playoffs; Burrie, Deli (Saprtans GM) & Eclair and it’s likely it will be a combination of 2 of these 3 that will feature in the final. All 3 have performed well during season, all averaging over 4 MVPR so the Spartans will be confident in whoever they field.

The Academy League Championship Series follows the Foundation League series on Saturday evening, approximate start time is 9pm ET!

CHAMPION LEAGUE HEAVY HITTERS CLASH

A new Champion League winner will be crowned on Sunday and it will be a hotly contested affair with the two franchises being represented both clamouring for their first title.

The Rhinos charged their way through the regular season, ending it in style with a perfect 10-0 series win record. They also scored a massive 209 goals on their way, an average of 4.18 per game! They will certainly hope their attacking prowess doesn’t desert them against the Knights. O.G.S.R & Yeet are likely to line-up for the Rhinos on Sunday after both playing in each of the previous rounds, helping to dispatch the Bears & Pandas in clinical fashion.

The Knights while not quite matching the Rhinos in terms of series won during the regular season (8-2) are certainly not here to make up the numbers. The 5th best offence and 3rd best defence during the regular season the Knights definitely have the steel and power to cause the Rhinos problems. The Knights will most likely field two out of Lil’ Q, MikeIsMyike & Taels. Each player has performed well over the season, with Taels in particular being one to watch if selected after recording an MVPR of 6.28 for the season.

The Champion League Series begins Sunday evening at 8pm eET!

PREDATORS LOOK TO TAKE DOWN ROYALTY

The Premier League Championship see’s two iconic franchises battle it out for the ultimate prize. The Elite already have two Championship Trophies to their name, winning Championships in Season 1 and 3. They have yet to win a Premier League Championship since the league’s inception in Season 6 but have the chance to write another chapter in their history this Sunday.

They do come into the final as somewhat underdogs. Finishing 6th in the overall standings and with a 6-4 series win record, the lowest of any team competing this weekend. On paper the Elite have a tough task ahead of them. But to dismiss the Elite would be foolish especially after they battled through 3 rounds of playoffs to make it. Those spirited displays will put them in good stead going into the final where the tension will be at fever pitch! Cearu & El Diablo Rojo who have played together in every round are expected to take to the field once again as they look to immortalise themselves into MLE folklore.

Looking to stop them are the Hawks. They finished 2nd in the overall standings with a 7-3 record, an indication of the competitiveness of the Premier League. TestGravity & Zayo will likely represent the Hawks, a pairing who played in both the Blue Conference Semi-Finals & Blue Conference Final. TestGravity will definitely be a key player, finishing the season 3rd for MVPR, playing 30 games and averaging 7.04. The Hawks have come close to success in previous seasons but this long standing franchise have never been better set to fly!

The Premier League Championship Series follows the Champion League series on Sunday evening, approximate start time is 9pm ET!

So the wait is nearly over! The players will no doubt be getting in their last games of practice as they prepare for their series. It’s going to be a fantastic finale to what’s been an awesome Season. You won’t want to miss the Championship Series weekend so tune into the MLE Network Saturday & Sunday from 7:45pm ET for all the action & excitement! See you there!

MLE News: Playoffs Begin! PowerA Giveaway & More!

The Season 9 playoffs are here! Read on to find out what happened in the Wildcard weekend…


PLAYOFFS

The first weekend of playoff action saw lots of thrills and spills as the “Wildcard Weekend” aka Conference Quarter-Finals took place. But who prevailed and who fell at the “first hurdle”?

Academy League

In the Orange Conference, #6 Orange Conference seed the Pirates took on #3 seed Elite. A series that ebbed and flowed finally ending with Elite snatching a 3-2 series win to clinch their place in the next round and a meeting with last seasons Champions the Outlaws! In the other Orange Conference tie, #5 seed outmuscled #4 seed the Spectre 3-1 to set up a tie against the #1 seed the Flames who finished the regular season with a 10-0 series record.

In the Blue Conference, #3 seed the Spartans saw off a spirited #6 seed the Hive with a 3-2 series win. For their efforts the Spartans will face the Puffins. The other clash in the Blue Conference section saw the Hurricanes and the Wolves fight it out. And things blew in the ‘Canes favour as they managed to put losing the 1st game behind them to win the series 3-1. Their “prize” for victory is a meeting with #1 seed the Ducks, who finished top of the regular season standings.

The 8 remaining teams contain some illustrious franchises with the Elite, Ducks & Outlaws all winning the Championship title at Academy League level in previous seasons. If the Outlaws were to retain their title they would be the first franchise to do so since the Wizards in Season 6!  History counts for little though and no doubt the other 5 teams will be hoping to make glorious tales of their own!

Champion League

#3 Orange Conference seed, the Pandas, continued their search for a first franchise Championship win with a 3-1 win over #6 seed Demolition, themselves also without a Championship to their name. The Pandas will face their Tropic Division rivals the Sharks in the next round, a team that just pipped them to the division title by a single game win. The other tie in the Orange Conference saw the #5 seed the Bears beat out #4 seed the Bulls in a 5 game thriller. With a total of 34 goals scored during the series, it was the Bears who triumphed, winning game 5 4-3! They will take on #1 Orange Conference seed the Rhinos. The Rhinos charged their way through the regular season winning all 10 of their series as they also look to add a first Championship trophy to their cabinet.

Over in the Blue Conference two historic franchises battled it out for a place in the Conference Semi-Finals. The Ducks, a franchise no stranger to success, overcame a spirited 6th seed in the Wolves, winning 3-1 and setting up a clash with #2 seed the Knights. In the other Blue Conference tie it was the Jets who soared, putting in an impressive performance to defeat 4th seed the Eclipse. The Jets now face the not so envious task of taking on #1 seed the Puffins, a team which went unbeaten during the regular season.

No one will be taking the Jets lightly after their display though! 8 teams now remain left in contention with only 1 franchise, the Ducks having ever won a Champion League title in their history. Can they add another feather to their impressive achievements as franchise or will one of the 7 plucky contenders stuff their ambitions?

Premier League

Not content with having 2 teams make the Conference Semi-Finals in other leagues, the Bears also progressed into the next round in the Premier League. The #4 seed put out the Flames hopes with a 3-1 series win to arrange a clash with their “brothers from another mother bear”, #1 seed the Pandas. In the other Orange Conference tie the Elite defeated the Demolition 3-1 in their quest to add their first Premier League title to their trophy cabinet. Standing in their way in the Conference Semi-Final is the tricky Wizards.

In the Blue Conference #3 seed the Wolves overcame #6 seed the Spartans in a fiercely contested series that ended 3-2. Victory for the Wolves means they progress to face #2 seed the Hawks. The other Blue Conference Quarter-Final saw #4 seed the Eclipse joust #5 seed the Knights from playoff contention with a 3-1 series win. The Eclipse now face the steamrolling #1 seed the Express who finished top of the overall regular season standings.

No team left in the Premier League Playoffs has won the Premier League Championship before though the Elite and Wizards as franchises have won multiple MLE Championships across other leagues. The Premier League was closely fought this season, with the top 5 in the overall standings only separated by 5 game wins and 4 of those teams are still involved going into the Conference Semi-Final stage! It’s going to be one wild battle to the finish!

Foundation League

There are 8 teams in contention for the Foundation League Championship. If regular season form and results indicate anything it would point the way of the Blue Conference, in particular the Hurricanes and Foxes who finished 1st and 2nd respectfully. The Hurricanes in particular come into the playoffs in hot form on a 5 win streak and winning 9 out of their 10 series. Should the Hurricanes turn this regular season success into playoff triumph it will mark their first Championship win as a franchise!

There are 4 other franchises in the Foundation League Playoffs who have yet to taste Championship success, the Pandas, Shadow, Wolves and the Blizzard. The Pandas finished the highest in the overall regular season standings out of the 4 teams, ending the season 4th overall with a 29-21 record. Although the Foundation League is the lowest competitive tier in MLE you can be sure all 8 teams left in the playoffs will be gunning for glory and pulling off some great plays in their bid for Championship greatness!

The Foundation League playoffs start this weekend; 26th and 27th October with the Conference Semi-Finals.


PowerA Playoff Giveaway

Our good friends at PowerA have once again come up with the goods and will be providing not 1, not 2, not even 3 but… 14!!! enhanced Xbox controllers to giveaway during the playoffs. Details of the giveaways will be posted on here and Twitter so keep your eyes peeled for more news later this week!


Franchise Logo Update

Another update on the logo front and another franchise logo has been completed! The Bears are the lucky ones, joining the Aviators, Blizzard, Elite and Spectre to receive a fresh logo. Of course we are keeping said logos under wraps until all 32 have been completed and as always we will keep you updated with any significant progress.


PLAYS OF THE WEEK

Missed the last couple weeks of Plays of the Week presented by BAWLS Guarana? Don’t worry here’s a recap for you all. Don’t forget you can vote for your favourite plays from the Playoffs. Just submit your clip to Twitter using the #MLEPotW for it to be considered. Community members can also used the PotW channel in Discord to submit plays!

Week 9 Winner:  Pops (Express)

Week 10 Winner: Zeebee (Ducks)

 


Community ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEW SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

We would like to announce the appointment of Hellyaman as our new Social media Coordinator. Hellyaman will be coordinating and organising the Social Media team to help improve MLE’s output and exposure on social media platforms. We know he will do a great job and look forward to working with him.


NEW ADMISSION AGENTS

There have also been additions to the Admissions team! We would like to welcome Alton, AtoMic, Deejay, Hershey, Krosis, RainbowNoms & Taelo to the team. no doubt they will soon have their hands full as we near the off-season and the usual glut of applications we receive!


MESSAGE TO THE COMMUNITY

We just wanted to take this moment to thank everyone who turned out for the playoff streams this past weekend. We reached over 100 viewers both nights which is great to see and we really appreciated the support. Hopefully as the playoffs continue those numbers continue to grow!

Good to luck to the teams remaining in the playoffs. Whatever happens we know you will give it your all! Don’t forget to tune in this weekend folks for the Conference Semi-Finals. The action starts at 8pm ET Saturday and Sunday on the MLE Network! Until then…

Have fun & see out there,

Minor League Esports

MLE News: Logo Update, Playoffs Imminent and More!

With two weeks to go before the playoffs it’s all go in Minor League Esports…


IT’S BUSINESS TIME!

The race for the playoffs is nearly over and with just one week of the regular season left it’s make or break for many team’s playoff aspirations!

Don’t forget to tune into the MLE Network this weekend to catch some intriguing, potentially season defining series. The live action starts 8pm ET Saturday & Sunday evening!


PLAYOFFS INCOMING!

As the regular season reaches its climatic conclusion thoughts are definitely turning to the playoffs and with that in mind we can confirm the dates as well as structure for the playoffs.

The Season 9 playoffs will take place over 4 weeks starting from 19th October. As the Foundation League playoffs will have only 8 teams competing in them, the Foundation League playoffs will consist of 3 weeks, starting from the Conference Semi-Final stage.

The majority of playoff series will be broadcasted on the MLE Network. Dates and stream times are detailed below. It’s going to adrenaline-fuelled to end of the season as we look to crown four new Champions!

Conference Quarter-Finals: 19th & 20th October (Stream time: Saturday & Sunday from 8pm ET)
Conference Semi-Finals: 26th & 27th October (Stream time: Saturday & Sunday from 8pm ET)
Conference Finals: 2nd & 3rd November (Stream time: Saturday & Sunday from 7pm ET)
Championship Series: 9th & 10th November (Stream time: Saturday & Sunday from 8pm ET)

Don’t forget you can check out who’s in contention to make the playoffs for each league here and you can also check out the wildcard standings here. Also keep an eye out for a wildcard report from Deejay!


FIRST LOGOS IN

Work is well underway on creating new logos for the 32 franchises and we are excited to announce 4 logos have been completed! Now we are going to be teases here as we are keeping those logos under wraps until all 32 logos have been completed. While you ready the catapult of rotten fruit aimed in the direction of MLE HQ, we can tell you the franchises who’s logos are complete… And its the Aviators, Blizzard, Elite and Spectre who have the honour of being the first franchises to have logos made! But who will be next? You will find out soon as we will keep you updated with any significant progress made.


PLAYS OF THE WEEK

Missed any recent BAWLS Plays of the Week? No worries we’ve got you covered! Checkout the top 3 plays from the past few weeks!

Week 6 Winner: Delisys (Spartans)

Week 7 Winner: Adiously (Blizzard)

Week 8 Winner: Dewy413 (Spectre)

 


Sgt. Scooby Show GETS A New Time!

The wonderful, weekly Sgt. Scooby Show will now air from 9pm ET on Monday evenings! Don’t forget to tune into the MLE Network tonight as the guys have a “special guest” on their show!


FINAL WORD

It seemed like only yesterday Season 9 began but low and behold 9 weeks of seasonal play later and we come to the final week of the regular season. To all those teams and players still in contention to make the playoffs we wish you luck and to those who have fallen short this season we commend your efforts and hope you had a blast. Behind the scenes are thoughts are turning towards Season 10 but before we release any information regarding Season 10 there’s still lots to look forward to this season. Anyway, until next time…

Have fun & see out there,

Minor League Esports

MLE News Update: Merch Launch! New Show & More!

We’ve just passed the halfway point of the Season 9 regular season and what an eventful week it’s been…


MLE MeRch Store Launches

Last Wednesday we announced the launch of our new store! If you haven’t checked it out already then what are you waiting for?! There are tons of great products on offer allowing supporters to represent MLE and their favourite franchises. And don’t forget for the next 7 days there is 15% of all orders, just use the redeem option at the top of the store page! All proceeds raised from the store will go back into MLE, primarily franchise logo commission. We want to take this moment to thank all those who have shown their support so far. At the time of writing we have amassed over 70 sales!

What’s more from tomorrow, after community requests, we have decided to allow a level of customisation to products. From tomorrow you will be add to add text as well as additional logos to products! Keep your eyes peeled for an announcement for the “launch” of this feature.


SGT & SCOOBY TAKE OVER THE MLE NETWORK

New to Monday nights on the MLE Network is “The Sgt. Scooby Show”. MLE community members sgtmc50cal and Scoobert Doobert will be bringing their fun weekly recap to the MLE Network every Monday evening. So tune this Monday evening at 7:30pm EDT for interviews, league updates, memes, sweet plays and general tomfoolery courtesy of Sgt. & Scoobs!


BAWLS PLAY OF THE WEEK | WEEK 3

Though week 5 may have just concluded this weekend just gone it’s time to announce the winner of week 3. A big well played is in order for Troubadour (Bulls, Academy League). You can see their winning play below as well as the other top two plays from week 3. As week 4 was a break week there was no play of the week competition. Find out next time who was the BAWLS Week 5 Play of the Week!


COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

NO FORFEITING PLEASE!

There have been a few instances of players quitting mid-series this season. We deem this to be unsporting behaviour and as such will be handing out severe disciplinary action to anyone guilty of this. We pride ourselves on providing a fun, friendly and respectful environment for our community and such individual actions & behaviour have an unfair effect on others. Any player found guilty of quitting and forfeiting will be suspended for 10 weeks of season play (not including playoffs). We are also looking at retroactive disciplinary action for those who are guilty of such action before this week, once a decision has been made we will let you all know. Please remember when competing in MLE to be play respectfully and sportingly.


COORDINATOR POSITION AVAILABLE

We are on the look out for a new social media coordinator. If you have an interest in leading the social media operations of MLE, helping to promote MLE and working with other departments such as media & marketing to ensure communication across social media platforms is clear and presentable then you maybe just the person. Keep an eye out over the next couple of days in the Discord server for how to apply for the position.


MODERATOR POSITIONs

We will also be advertising for additions to the moderation team so keep your eyes peeled in the Discord server for an announcement regarding this.


SUGGESTIONS OVERHAUL

As you may have seen the way we handle community suggestion has undergone a bit of an overhaul. The new system we have in place will make it far easier for us to handle suggestions as well as offer the community clearer visibility on the responses to every suggestion posted. For more information on the changes see the recent post in Community Announcement channel.


WEBSITE UPDATES

There’s been a few small updates to our website you may have noticed. Firstly the league standings have been updated so win % is now the defacto method of sorting followed by head-to-head. The standings also now have streak & form columns and you can click on the individual wins or losses in the form column to see the relevant match results & stats. You can now also see which league every player is competing in, neat huh? There’s going to be a few more additions and improvements in the coming weeks too! Big thanks to Stevo for his continued work with the website.


Final Word

And that’s the news for another week folks! Not too much to add really but be sure to check the Sgt. & Scooby show tonight on Twitch. Show them guys some support for the great show they will be putting on. We hope everyone enjoyed the return of the live broadcasts this weekend, we know they were some technical issues that affected Sunday night stream. Unfortunately this was out of control, blame those pesky Twitch servers. Nevertheless onward & upward they say. Anyway, until next time…

Have fun & see out there,

Minor League Esports

MLE News Update: Week 3 Woes, Play of the Week & More!

We are already over 3 weeks into Season 9… time flies eh? Here’s a brief news update…


Week 3 Broadcasts

We would once again like to apologise for the lack of official broadcasts this past weekend. Unfortunately we were unable to fulfil our schedule due to a number of circumstances. A big thank you to all our affiliates who provided the community with some fantastic MLE action! On the back of this weekend we are reviewing our broadcast schedule/format going forward as we want to ensure we can fulfil the schedule and provide a great selection of action without compromising quality. As planned there are no official broadcasts this coming weekend however we may have something special lined up!


BAWLS Play of the Week | Week 2 

Dewy413 (Spectre, Champion League) was the first winner of Play of the Week sponsored by BAWLS Guarana but who would be the Week 2 Play of the Week winner and the lucky recipient of a refreshing case of BAWLS? Step forward Vitali (Aviators, Premier League)! See his winning play below as well as the the 2nd and 3rd best voted plays from week 2!


TOWN HALL

The town hall bell tolls once again! This Sunday at 6pm EDT several MLE admins will be on hand to answer your burning questions. For more details on the Town Hall please read the recent announcement in Community Announcement on Discord.


ML3’s CAPTAIN CLASH – SIGN UP NOW*

Looking for some weekly, competitive Rocket League action on Tuesday evening? Then look no further than the ML3’S CAPTAIN CLASH! To play in the event sign up here. Once you have signed up be sure to check in at 7:30pm EDT (30 minutes before start of the event).

The event works as such: there will be a Draft to select teams, then play a Double Elimination bracket right after. Highest ranked players will be captains. This whole event will take a few hours. Winners Bracket is a Best of 3, Losers will be a Best of 1. The event is open to all MLE Community members so why not give it a go?

*Event for community members only


INSIDE MLE

We hope you enjoyed the first instalment of “Inside MLE”. We have had a couple of suggestions regarding possible content for next instalment and after some deliberation we will be looking at the semantics of expansion; how has MLE grown over time, what is our current disposition on expanding and what are the plans/hopes for the future. And don’t forget if you have any suggestion for content you would like to be explored in-depth for Inside MLE feel free to suggest it here.


Final Word

Well folks week 3 was certainly an eventful one. We were just as disappointed as our community with the cancellation of the week 3 Official Broadcasts. Unfortunately we had to make the difficult decision to cancel as we were left without any alternative. Hopefully people’s disappointment will soon shift to excitement as we have a number of things in the works and soon to be revealed but to mention them now would spoil the surprise.

On a side note from our majestic President, TheGamingBear, who definitely didn’t  write this. He would like to inform the community his availability this coming week will be somewhat unpredictable as he is begrudgingly prodded out of his current dwelling to a more spacious “hovel”.

Well that’s a wrap for this update, until next time…

Have fun & see out there,

Minor League Esports

MLE News Update: Season 9 Starts, Sponsors news & More!

Season 9 is up now up & running and with it comes whole host news…


SEASON 9 IS A GO

Oh yes! Season 9 of MLE is well underway as the first week of action concluded on Sunday. There was plenty of fantastic live action for people to enjoy with Premier League & Champion League series broadcasted on mlesportsgg and Academy League & Foundation League matches broadcasted on the mlesportsgg2! It’s still very early days in the season but a number of teams were intent to make their mark early on. You can see who made strong starts the season in the league standings below. Week 2 action starts tomorrow. Don’t forget to tune into mlesportsgg from 8:30pm EDT Saturday & Sunday as well as mlesportsgg2 from 8:00pm Saturday & Sunday for more enthralling MLE series!

Premier League Standings | Champion League Standings | Academy League Standings | Foundation League Standings


Suggestions GET AN OVERHAUL

Our new community coordinators; Galaxy & SSS, along with League Operations coordinator; Riz, have been hard at work implementing a better system when it comes to handling your suggestions. Going forward we will be posting regular summaries of suggestions on the website along with relevant responses from MLE council members and coordinators. We believe this will provide much more visibility with regards suggestions and ensure none get overlooked. The way community members can provide suggestions remains the same but the way we handle them will be much more effective. Keep a lookout within the next week for the first post!


DISCORD NAME TAGS

We realize that with the addition of cross-play, system tags are no longer needed for names in Discord. It was brought up as a suggestion to change them to something else at the end of last month. We sent out a survey to see what everyone thought about it. We received many great suggestions and we want to thank you for submitting them. After much consideration we have decided to go with ‘nothing’ as our system tag replacement i.e. DOD | Player … that’s it. Nothing fancy but we feel this option is very clean and direct. We’ll be instituting this change over the next couple of weeks.


BAWLS & POWERA ARE BACK!

As we are sure you are aware by now our good friends at BAWLS and PowerA have once again agreed to sponsor us for this season. We are forever thankful for their support and the great prizes they offer to our community. This season BAWLS will once again be sponsoring Play of the Week, rewarding each weeks winner with a case of refreshing BAWLS! On top of this they will also be providing 1 case to each Championship winning team! PowerA will be providing lucky winners this season with their quality controllers and headsets so be sure to keep a lookout for giveaways. We feel privileged to be supported by these great companies once again and look forward to continuing our relationships.


PLAY OF THE WEEK

Speaking about MLE Play of the Week sponsored by BAWLS Guarana, don’t forget to vote for your favourite plays from week 1. You can do by submitting the form linked here. Please note voting is only open to community members. We are looking at ways to better present Play of the Week clips that are up for vote so if you have any ideas or suggestions please let us know. Don’t forget to clip plays during streams and post them in the Play of the Week channel on Discord so they can be considered for that week’s vote!


FRESHLY VERIFIED

A big well played goes out to community members DK & TeaBoneJones who have become the latest Verified Affiliate Broadcasters! They will now be able to broadcast any MLE series outside of Official Broadcast times on their channels helping to increase the exposure of MLE whilst giving them support and promotion as well. Anyone interested in getting involved with broadcast such contact Broadcast Director: Hunted or Broadcast Coordinator: Riyo.


INSIDE MLE

In case you somehow missed it, please check out our brand new feature “Inside MLE”. Inside MLE will be dedicated to providing an insight into hot topics in MLE, giving in-sight and perspective into decision making and operations. The first instalment of Inside MLE tackles the engaging topic of Franchise Logos and our current situation with regards to getting them produced. You can read all about it here.


SEASON AWARDS

So we know there was some confusion as to what happened with the “Well Played Award” for Positive Contribution to the Community for the Season 8 Awards show. Good question. It’s not that it was forgotten far from it, it was more the fact the votes were very spread out across a large number of people so there was no conclusive winner. That being said we are still looking at doing something for it. Obviously talk about Awards will instigate questions regarding the seemingly ill-fated Season 7 Awards. Fear not they too have not been forgotten and they will be resolved in the very near future. We apologise for the delay and any confusion on these matters.


FINAL WORD

Well there you go folks Season 9 has started! We hope everyone has enjoyed it so far, whether you got chance to play, watch or just be involved in some capacity. There were a few hiccups, that’s par for the course, but we have no doubt as the Season progresses you will see a number of improvements. We continually look to develop and enhance what we offer to our community and we are confident Season 9 will be one of the best yet, if not the best.

If you have only just found about MLE, where have you been? No but in all seriousness even though Season 9 has started there are still plenty of opportunities for people to get involved. So please don’t hesitate to sign up! Right onto week 2 and it promises to be another banger!

Have fun & see out there,

Minor League Esports

Inside MLE: Logo Limbo

Hey there curious wanderer! Welcome to “Inside MLE”; a new feature where we offer you, the lucky reader, an insight into the workings of MLE. We thought it might be fun, as well as interesting, to offer our community a perspective into aspects of Minor League Esports, from reasons behind decisions made to the operations of MLE.

For the first instalment of Inside MLE we will be looking at a hop topic in the community; franchise logos! Oh yes that tasty little subject, so without delay let’s get into it.

A Blast to the Past

Before we dive head first into the current situation, let’s take a trip to the past using our imaginary time machine. More specifically end of Season 7. As many of you know Minor League Esports was previously known as Minor League Doubles. This was the case going into the off-season and the future was looking promising. 6 new franchises were ready to be fully-unveiled with new logos (Goblins, Hive, Sabres, Shellbacks, Spectre, Tyrants – the Goblins and Shellbacks were subsequently changed to Express & Shadow post rebrand). Plans were in place to make Season 8 the best yet.

Alas best made plans and all that. As many people reading this will be aware, MLD underwent an unexpected rebrand during that off-season, which is how Minor League Esports was born. This isn’t 100% true as there were plans to rebrand MLD to MLE but the events that unfolded fast-tracked that. We are not here to talk about those events however but more what that meant for franchise logos and the current state of play. 

An unfortunate result of the events and the necessary rebrand we lost the rights to use the franchise and league logos. This was a huge blow, which caused the off-season to last much longer than initially planned. As we scrambled to organise and prepare for Season 8, franchise logos took a back seat. When you run a league and have an active community priority must always go to ensuring the competitive element; league play, is delivered. It is the main reason why people sign-up at the end of the day.

Despite franchise logos taking a back seat discussions were happening and research was taking place. A number of different options were considered and after much deliberation and we decided to reach out to a shortlist of designers. The plan was to have a few designers working on a set number of logos each, working towards common objectives and requirements. Unfortunately we did not get past this stage of negotiations as focus was abruptly shifted to league operations & community aspects. Again this was a case of prioritising the fundamental elements of the league. This was in part due to an unwelcome coincidence where several members of the council personal situations suddenly changed. Long story short; the availability of those in important administrative positions drastically changed and it caused potential operational problems that needed to be resolved.

The rebrand before Season 8 also saw a whole host of changes such as reducing the length of the regular season in half, the implementation of coordinators and the introduction of the Affiliate program. Arguably perhaps we tried to do too much at once and this obviously had a knock-on effect on the commissioning and production of franchise logos but during and after the rebrand we had a renewed sense of purpose and excitement. We didn’t want MLE just to be MLD, we wanted it to be better!

You said “Hey… What’s Going On?”

So that’s the brief history lesson out of the way. Now fast forward to the start of this season. Going into Season 9 we know many in the community are eager and somewhat expectant to see logos this season. Often questions arise in our community regarding franchise logos, with members “thirsty” for any updates or news. Franchise logos are an important aspect for community members, especially for those who saw the development and improvement of franchise logos in the “MLD era”. We are sure those that do remember agree that the logos were unique and of high quality. They gave MLD a real sense of identity, one that helped make it stand out from the competition.

With franchise logos being fundamentally important it’s crucial we get them right. This is one of the main reasons time is being taken. We want to ensure the logos are to the standard we expect, that fit with the overall presentation of MLE & give each franchise a unique look. Referring back to the community’s desire to see updates and progress, it’s no surprise that many have started to offer ideas and even dream up a few ideas of their own. This is fantastic. We love to see our community passionately invested in MLE and the franchises that represent it. Some will even point to designs and say “Hey, this is good. We should use this!”. We are never ones to discourage feedback or suggestions but it’s worth reiterating our intentions and desires in terms of franchise logos.

For our 32 franchise logos we want them to be unique. We want them to authentically and seamlessly fit the overall style and presentation of MLE. We want to ensure they look good, so good that players associate & relate to their franchise even more and want to buy the sweet merchandise that will come once they have been completed. This generally means we are looking at getting them professionally sourced i.e. graphic designers. While the designs and ideas provided by some of our community members have been great they are not quite up to the standard or style we are looking for and those using templates have limitations. Therefore the only realistic route we foresee is getting them professionally sourced.

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

We know many people will just want an answer to a simple question? “When can we expect franchise logos?” Not to be party poopers but the answer is not for a while. It’s very unlikely franchise logos will be completed and released before the season is out. We know that news won’t be met with much excitement but we have to be realistic and to make false guarantees would not be fair to our fantastic community.

What we can announce is that discussions and negotiations are well under way. We have approached a designer we have previously interacted with with a view to getting a small selection of the logos produced. We felt that rather than try and overload a designer with numerous logos to start with, that, it would be more beneficial to commission them to produce a small sample. The benefits of this approach are that it offers a greater focus on each franchise logo. We don’t want to end up with any inconsistencies when it comes to logos so having a more focused approach will help us meet such an objective. By starting “small” it gives us greater scope to make adjustments over the course of the design & production process.

There is no set amount of time it takes a designer to create one logo. During our research and investigations we were generally quoted approximately a week per logo but obviously this varies. To give further context, the MLE logo took a few weeks from conception through to release. Now some of you reading this will think it will be the middle of next year by the time we see all 32 franchise logos however our intentions are to deliver them in a reasonable amount of time. Not sacrificing any quality or consistency along the way. Again we can’t give guarantees but we are committed to ensuring the new franchise logos will be worth the wait.

Cost is also something that gets mentioned in the franchise logo discussion. We know a good portion of our community has stated they would fully help support and invest in any fundraising if necessary. We are forever grateful for such statements and support. Our community has already shown incredible levels of support through Twitch subscriptions, donations via Patreon as well as bits on Twitch and much more. Suffice to say the revenue we have acquired since the end of Season 7 has been saved for investment, such as the commissioning of franchise logos.

We do have a decent size pool of funds from that revenue ready to invest into the production of franchise logos. While we do not wish to reveal the actual amount or discuss costs of commission we can safely say we have accrued a decent portion of the likely total costs. We do not expect anyone to personally fund such a venture or feel obliged to donate/financially support us, to those that do we offer our most heartfelt gratitude. If, for whatever reason, we feel we need to do fundraising for any venture/project, the details of which will be fully transparent to our community. Of course if we decide to go down that route we will endeavour to let our community know.

A Final Word… or Two

Well we think thats enough talk for one day. Hopefully you have enjoyed this insight into MLE and one of the hottest topics inside the community. If you have any suggestions of content you would like to see in these features please let us know. And if you have any feedback regarding this article we would greatly appreciate it. The plan is to try deliver such features at least once a month, not including the regular news updates. So if you enjoyed this feature and want to see more let us know! All comments, opinions & ideas are welcome. We will keep our community updated whenever there are any significant updates regards franchise logos you can be sure of that. Until next time, have fun out there!


If there is a topic or part of MLE you would like to be explored in a future “Inside MLE” feature please use this form to submit your suggestion. You can also use the form to provide feedback on the feature too!

MLE News Update: Season 9 Schedule, New Coordinators and More!

The start of the Season 9 Regular Season is nearly upon us and there’s lots of juicy news to announce…


Season 9 Draft

It’s over! The much anticipated Season 9 Draft played out last weekend and now the 32 franchises have filled their rosters for the season ahead. Congratulations to all that were drafted. A full list of current rosters can be found in the link below. Good luck to all those drafted to play in Season 9. For those not selected or joining MLE after the draft don’t panic, opportunities to play will arise throughout the season.

Season 9 Rosters: view Rosters here


Fixture List & Broadcast Schedule

A new season means plenty of changes and we have decided to implement a Broadcast Schedule for Season 9. What that means is for weeks 1-8 of the regular season, excluding week 4, series have been pre chosen for broadcast. We decided to go down this route as this will allow for better organisation and setup as well as giving franchises fairer opportunities of exposure on broadcast.

No series have been selected for week 4 as, in a first in the history of the MLE, we are introducing a “double header” week. Week 4 falls on Labor Day weekend and as a result we have decided to give franchises the option to schedule two series during week 3 if they wish.To keep things simple and clean in terms of presentation only week 3 series will be broadcasted during the double header week.

The fixture list will be viewable on the website soon.

Fixture List & Broadcast Schedule: view schedule here


New MLE Twitch Channel!

Season 9 will see 11 series broadcasted every week (technology permitting). With four leagues on show it can lead to a slightly confusing viewing experience. With all this in mind we would like to announce a second Twitch channel! For Season 9 we have decided to divide content and broadcasts between two channels, with mlesportsgg broadcasting Premier League & Champion League action and the newly acquired mlesportsgg2 (inventive name huh?) hosting Academy League & Foundation League series. These changes will ensure more streamlined & focused broadcasts as well as providing a greater spotlight for all four leagues and the players within them.

Both channels will stream Saturday and Sunday evenings (ET) every week. On Saturday from 8:30pm, mlesportsgg will be broadcasting 3 Champion League series whilst mlesportsgg2 will be broadcasting 2 Foundation League series from 8pm. On Sunday from 8:30pm, mlesportsgg will broadcast 3 Premier league series whilst mlesportsgg2 will broadcast 3 Academy League series from 8:00pm.

mlesportsgg: Saturday 8:30pm, Sunday 8:30pm
mlesportsgg2: Saturday 8:00pm, Sunday 8:00pm


Rulebook Updated

We can officially announce the MLE Rulebook has been refreshed and amended ahead of Season 9. There have been a number of amendments and changes in the rulebook so when you get chance please read to ensure you understand. Any questions from community members should be posted to the #help-desk channel in Discord. Those reading this and currently not part of MLE can direct any questions to mlesportsgg@gmail.com

Rulebook: view rulebook here


New Coordinators

Thank you to everyone who applied for the Community & Marketing Coordinator positions. We have made our decisions and we are excited to announce the following appointments, first our new Marketing Coordinator…

Congratulations are in order to Sleegi! Sleegi has made a profound and positive impression since joining the community, becoming an established caster for MLE, a General Manager for the Hawks franchise and a well respected member of the community. We have full confidence he will excel as our new Marketing Coordinator, here’s a few words from the man himself:

“I am so excited that the council has entrusted me with this role, and can’t wait to get started! I expect to help grow MLE like we’ve  never seen before, get started with merch that you won’t be able to resist picking up, and focus on pushing the image of our wonderful community out to as many eyes as possible!”

Over to the new Community Coordinators and we are happy to announce that SSS and Galaxy have been recruited! Since joining MLE, SSS has provided a great deal of support and help, especially with Admissions. Galaxy has become an active and productive member of the community and showed a real desire to improve community operations. Here is what both of them had to say about being appointed:

“Hello everyone, for those who don’t know me, I’m SSS! I am very excited to step into this new role as community coordinator to see the growth of this league and community as it continues to thrive. As I step into this role, I invite those who would like to share their thoughts on the league with me in professional manner. This will not only help me to help the community, but I know that many people here have some fantastic ideas that may be too shy to share them publicly. I just want to say thank you and I look forward to working closer with you all.” -SSS

Hello everyone! I look forward to being one of the two new community coordinators in MLE. I look forward to meeting everyone, if I haven’t already, and I am super excited to help our talented staff team. I am almost always able to be contacted through Discord most of the time so don’t hesitate to send me a message if you have any questions. Again, I can’t wait to get started and help continue to make this community grow!” – Galaxy

The Broadcast team would also like to announce the appointment of Riyo as a Broadcast Coordinator. Riyo has shown great initiative and character, working his way to become an Affiliate broadcaster to helping run and broadcast Official Broadcasts. There’s no doubt Riyo has been a great addition to the Broadcast team and is certainly excited about what lies ahead:

“I can’t wait to get this new season started. I want to help bring the best broadcast possible to MLE and make sure as many games as possible get on a stream every week. If you ever have any ideas or questions feel free to message me any time. Hope everyone has a good season.”

We wish them all well in their new roles & look forward to seeing what they can do. 


Beware Hackers!

Folks please beware of any links you receive in private messages on Steam & Discord, if in doubt do not click them as your account may be compromised. If you receive a suspicious DM from a member of the community please inform a member of the council or community coordinator immediately.


Final Word

We are just one week away from the start of Season 9! We don’t know about anyone else but this off-season has flown by! The 32 franchises have now drafted their rosters for each of their teams and the time for talking is nearly over. We would like to take this moment to thank everyone who has helped us get this far and has supported with the preparations for Season 9.

Now it’s the time we have all been waiting for, the moment when players turn on their engines and take to the field to battle it out with the ultimate goal of immortalising themselves in MLE history! You won’t want to miss out any of the action this season so make you sure you tune into our Twitch channels each weekend for live MLE action and follow us on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook so you don’t miss anything!

Thanks for reading folks, until next time…

Have fun & peace out,

Minor League Esports

 

MLE News Update: Season 8 Awards, Season 9 Drafts & More!

We are just a few days away from the Season 9 Drafts. Find out about them and much more in the latest MLE news update…


Season 8 Awards Show

The votes have been cast and now it’s time to reveal the winners…. Well not right now but this Friday evening! Tune into the MLE Network at 8pm EST to see who won what in the MLE Season 8 Awards Show! Thank you to all those that voted! See you all Friday!


Season 9 Drafts

This weekend also sees the much-anticipated Season 9 Drafts. Each of the four leagues have their own draft where General Managers take turns to pick Free Agents to represent their team for the forthcoming season. Saturday will see the Foundation League draft followed by the Academy League draft and on Sunday the Champion League draft will take place followed by the Premier League draft. All drafts will be live on the MLE Network stream start times listed below.

Saturday 27th July, 7pm EST: Foundation League & Academy League

Sunday 28th July, 7pm EST: Champion League & Premier League


Community & Marketing Coordinators Wanted!

MLE are looking for some new Community Coordinators as well as a marketing Coordinator. Coordinators are an integral part of MLE and we are always looking for active, determined individuals within the community to help support our organisation. Coordinators are fundamental to the operations of the areas they operate in and help shape how MLE runs. For anyone interested in a Community Coordinator position or Marketing Coordinator position please read the Coordinator Information document linked in the Discord post. (Please note only Community & Marketing Coordinator positions are being considered at this moment). To apply for either position please fill out a form linked in the Discord post. Applications close at the end of this week so don’t delay!


MLE World Cup Mixer Champions Declared

Last Friday 16 illustrious nations, such as Brazil, China, North Korea and Zimbabwe were represented by MLE community members in the MLE World Cup Mixer… even a certain Presidential Bear who captain plucky underdogs to a respectful quarter-final appearance! In the end there could be only one winner and it was the mighty Poland represented by Miller_Ball_22, Oni & Rook who lifted the metaphorical trophy. Big GGs to everyone who turned up to play and those who organised the event. 


Alberta Rocket League Event

This “announcement” comes courtesy of MikeIsMyIke:

Attention Alberta MLE Members! Salt Mines 2019 is Calgary’s premier Esport tournament series and this year they’re adding a Rocket League 3v3 tournament! Full PC gaming setups will be provided on site, so you’ll only have to bring your own controller! The $30 competitor pass gets you entry into 20 different tournaments throughout the weekend including Rocket League, so you can play in as many events as you’d like! And if you’re a fan of Smash Bros, this is Alberta’s most stacked event yet! The event is held the weekend  August 3rd / 4th Full information can be found here https://smash.gg/tournament/salt-mines-2019/details or alternatively DM MikeIsMyIke for further info.


Final Word

Right folks this is it. Draft Week, the biggest week of Season 9 so far! To all those Free Agents looking to be drafted we wish you well. Some of you will be lucky and get drafted whilst otherwise will not and have to hope they get a chance during the season. To those that do fall into this second category don’t be too disheartened, each season there have been numerous opportunities to get picked up by a team during the season as players rank up, leave rosters, etc. So if you don’t get drafted it’s not the end of your season, far from it. There will also be plenty of community events throughout the season for you to enjoy as well.

As we approach draft weekend we would like to thank everyone who has helped push applications this past week. It was looking a little close to the line with some of the leagues in terms of player numbers but this past week we have seen a surge in applications and admissions into MLE and we would like to take this moment to thank everyone involved with making that happen, from the admissions team to those who simply helped promote MLE in anyway, your support is greatly appreciated.

So all that is left to do enjoy the rest of the week, be sure to tune into the MLE Network this weekend for the Awards Show and Drafts if you can. Those Drafts can be extensive affairs so I know the Broadcast team will appreciate your comments and support. 

Thanks for reading folks, until next time…

Have fun & peace out,

Minor League Esports

MLE News Update: Draft Lottery, Applications & More!

We are hot off the heels of last night’s Season 9 Draft Lottery, which saw our 32 Franchises learn their respective fates for the upcoming Drafts. With the Season 9 draft only a few weeks away there’s a lot of news to bring you all! So without delay here is the news…


Franchise Fates Decided

Last night the Draft order for each of the four leagues was decided on stream. But who did the wheel favour and who ended waiting till the end. Let’s find out…

It was the Sharks who got the luck of the draw in the Foundation League. This will be the Sharks first season in the Foundation league after not being involved in the inaugural season of the Foundation League in Season 8. The Pandas and Blizzard were next out of the hat at 2 & 3 respectively. For one of the founding franchises of MLE, the Elite, it wasn’t such good news as they got dealt the card of having to pick last in the upcoming draft. 

Foundation League Season 9 Draft Order

In the Academy League, 32 teams eagerly awaited to find out their fate and it was Season 7 Academy League runners-up, the Jets, who flew in as first pick. They will be hoping 1st pick will improve their fortunes after a tough Season 8. The Pandas once again struck lucky getting the 2nd pick again, drawing ahead of Season 6 & 7 Champions the Wizards. Last Seasons Champions, the Outlaws have a slight disadvantage going into the defence of their title being picked last but one, that “honour” falling to the Tyrants.

Academy League Season 9 Draft Order

With the Tyrants winning the Season 8 Champion League Championship in their inaugural season, the chances of them being picked first were slim but they again had the blow of having to pick last in the upcoming draft. On the flip side, the Spectre enter their 2nd season as a franchise with renewed optimism after being drawn first. They are followed by Season 6 Champions the Aviators in 2nd and the Outlaws in 3rd.

Champion League Season 9 Draft Order

And last not but not least the Premier League teams were informed of their place in the upcoming Draft. With the addition of 16 teams this season, their will be plenty of places up for grabs and it was the Bears who will get first pick. In bizarre circumstances the Pandas once again got drawn in 2nd & the Spartans received some luck from the wheel after being drawn lowly in the Academy & Champion League draws. Last seasons Champions, the Foxes, were last “out of the hat”, pipped to 31st place by the team they defeated, the Bulls, in last season’s Championship Final.

Premier League Season 9 Draft Order


Season 9 Important Dates

In case you missed last week’s Community News update don’t worry, here is a friendly reminder of a couple of important upcoming dates.

Draft Weekend, Saturday & Sunday 27th & 28th July 

Draft weekend is always an exciting and nervous time for those hoping to get picked up by one of the teams. Full times, details, etc. regarding the Draft Weekend will be released nearer the event. 

Season 9 start, Thursday 8th – Sunday 11th August

Week 1 of Season 9 is provisionally planned to start on the “second weekend” in August. Full fixtures and season structure will be released in the near future once details have been finalised.


Foundation League Players Wanted

MLE is a great place for players new to Rocket League or those looking to progress from the lower ranks. Many players who started out in Foundation league have improved their skills and rank, whilst having a lot of fun along the way, so if you are ranked Platinum 3 or below and are looking for a supportive & competitive environment, MLE is a great environment to develop… if we do say so ourselves. To apply for the chance to play in Season, click here.


Follow MLE

Did you know MLE has an Instagram account? MLE is present on several platforms so why not check us out and give us a follow.

Facebook: @MLEsportsGG

Instagram: mlesportsgg

Twitch: http://twitch.tv/mlesportsgg

Twitter: @MLEsportsgg

Website: https://mlesports.gg

YouTube: Minor League Esports


Final Word

With the Draft Lottery completed the 32 franchises will be hard at work trying to scout players ahead of the forthcoming drafts. Season 9 is on course to be the biggest yet and as these next couple of weeks unravel there will be lots of information to digest.

Don’t forget to keep out on league announcements for any updates, as well as the website and Twitter.

Thanks for reading, until next time…

 

Have fun & peace out,

Minor League Esports

 

MLE Starts Season 8

Season 8 Revs Its Engines

Just under 4 months ago the Ducks beat the Bulls in a thrilling Champion League Championship Series making the Ducks the most successful franchise in the history of Minor League Esports… only MLE was actually known as MLD; Minor League Doubles.

Saying it’s been an exciting and dramatic period in the history of the organisation is definitely an understatement, not only did MLD go “under the knife” and undergo a conclusive re-brand but many changes and additions were made to every asset of the organisation.

The number of leagues doubled from 2 to 4, with the introduction of the Foundation and Premier Leagues. The inclusion of these two leagues provides more players opportunities to play and develop and also offers a greater, as well as fairer, level of competition.

8 new franchises joined the roster bumping up the number of franchises from 24 to 32! Those new franchises are Express, Hive, Sabres, Shadow, Spectre and Tyrants along with the Eclipse & Outlaws, which were chosen by the MLE community.

Last season saw franchises battle it out over 14 gruelling weeks of regular season play, with those fortunate to come out on top going on to the playoffs. Season 8 however see’s the regular season schedule dramatically reduced to 7 weeks! The shorter season will no doubt lend itself to more intense competition and more dramatic moments especially as the race for the playoffs heats up.

But enough about the changes, Season 8 is here and it’s ready to cause a riot. It all kicks off from Thursday with week 1 of the regular season, which sees 48 series due to be played over the course of Thursday through to the end of Sunday. Each franchise will have a team competing in the Academy & Champion Leagues, as well as a team in either the Foundation or Premier League. Will any franchise do the triple?

There are so many tantalizing questions lie in wait to be answered; Who will be the early pace-setters? Can the Ducks add to their trophy cabinet? Will one of the new franchises employ some beginners luck in their debut season? Which players will light up the pitch? What new things will we see over the course of the season and what surprises will there be?

All this and more will be answered in Minor League Esports! Follow all the action on mlesports.gg, @MLEsportsgg and twitch.tv/mlesportsgg