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Collegiate esports Northeast

Your program. Your region.Your next season.

A regional home for collegiate esports, connecting programs across the Northeast and beyond through competition, program support, and community.

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NEL team gathers in a pre-match huddle at a championship event
Team pride in the NEL

Season information

Plan your next season.

Why NEL

A regional home for your program.

Regional competition

Build regional rivalries across traditional athletic-conference affiliations, with a place for varsity and club programs.

One program membership

One program membership covers unlimited teams and game titles for one season, including seasonal side events.

Program support

Organize your rosters on Gaming Oasis League Hub and get help through your conference Discord.

Competition

From registration to the final stage.

Game nights & formats

Rocket League

Thursdays · 8 p.m. Eastern

Two matches per game night. Best-of-three tier assignment; best-of-five group play.

Format details

VALORANT

Tuesdays · 8 p.m. Eastern

One match per game night. Best-of-one tier assignment; best-of-three group play.

Format details

League of Legends

Mondays · 8 p.m. Eastern

One match per game night. Best-of-one tier assignment; best-of-three group play.

Competition pathway

  1. Tier assignment

    Results place teams into Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3 ahead of group play.

  2. T1–T3 Groups

    Play a single round robin against teams in your competitive tier.

  3. LCQ / Winner’s Circle / Rising Star

    Group results lead to playoff seeding, a last-chance qualifier, or the Rising Star pathway.

  4. Playoffs / Rising Star Playoffs

    Separate main and Rising Star brackets bring the competitive split to a close.

  5. Grand Finals LAN

    Fall and Spring results earn points toward an invitation to compete in person.

Times shown are the usual start of each game night. Tier assignment starts one hour earlier. Check conference calendars for schedule changes.

Calendars & guidelines

How teams progress.

Rocket League · VALORANT · League of Legends

T1–T3 group play

T1, T2, and T3 group teams into competitive levels, with T1 as the highest tier.

Tier assignment

Early-season results determine each team’s tier for group play.

Round-robin groups

Teams face each opponent in their group once. Results shape the postseason.

LCQ, Winner’s Circle & Rising Star

After groups, the season continues with playoff qualification, seeding, and a separate Rising Star pathway.

Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ)

A qualifying bracket where teams compete for the remaining main Playoffs places.

Winner’s Circle (WC)

A round robin for teams already qualified for the main Playoffs. Results determine seeding; no teams are eliminated.

Rising Star

A separate postseason pathway, played through Rising Star Playoffs.

Playoffs / Rising Star Playoffs

Both playoff brackets use double elimination in Rocket League and single elimination in VALORANT and League of Legends.

Main Playoffs

The main postseason bracket brings together teams from Winner’s Circle and LCQ.

Rising Star Playoffs

Rising Star teams compete in their own playoff bracket, with their own top finishers.

Grand Finals LAN

The competitive year builds toward Grand Finals LAN, where invited teams compete in person.

Fall performance

Earn points through your Fall split results.

Spring performance

Add to your points total with your Spring split results.

LAN invitations

Combined points from both splits determine which teams earn an invitation to Grand Finals LAN.

Rocket League format guide VALORANT format guide

Membership

Bring your program to the league.

One program membership covers unlimited teams and game titles for one season, including seasonal side events.

Create or access your program

Interested in joining the NEL?

Conference interest form Talk to NEL staff

  1. Set up your program

    Create or sign in through League Hub.

  2. Prepare your rosters

    Add a manager, captains, and players.

  3. Review membership

    Membership Info
NEL players come together as a team before competition

Our community

Regional roots. Real connections.

Connect with players, coaches, and programs across the Northeast and neighboring regions. Build the relationships that make competition a shared experience.

Meet the NEL community

Meet the programs

Explore League Hub programs in the NEL region.

Open Gaming Oasis League Hub

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Stay connected

Around the NEL.

Connect with the NEL community on Discord for conference announcements, season conversations, and support from league staff.

Get updates on Discord

Watch

Follow the competition.

NEL team preparing together at a championship event
Watch NEL on Twitch

Resources

Everything your program needs.

Conference guidelines

Game rules and conference policies.

Membership Info

Explore conference membership.

Program access

Manage your program on League Hub.

Join the NEL

Your program. Your next chapter.

Create your program on League Hub to get started.

Get started on League Hub