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