Telia to launch Finnish eSports league

Nordic telco Telia has teamed up with Finnish digital culture and events outfit Assembly to launch a new Finnish eSports league, the Telia Esports Series.

The league will kick off in the spring. Telia will build and run the series in collaboration with Assembly, in which it become the major shareholder last summer. Qualifiers will be played online ahead of a live final, with dates, games and teams to be unveiled soon, according to the telco.

There are currently around 50 professional eSports gamers active in Finland, according to Telia, with players belonging to gaming organsiations such as Telia’s partner ENCE.

Niklas Segercrantz of Telia Finland’s eSports team said that the company’s aim was to create “the best eSports series in Finland” and to make the country “a world leader in eSports and gaming”.

Assembly CEO Pekka Aakko said that Finland currently lacked “a prominent, high-quality, competitive and a visible league able to attract viewers” and that the series would create a pathway to the world’s biggest tournaments.