Leagues ApS, a Danish esports company that operated the Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC) for the UK, Ireland, and Nordics, has shut down in early April 2026.
All employees have been laid off, according to senior sources who confirmed the development to esports news publication The Esports Advocate. The company had been running the league through its Leagues.gg platform and its content arm, Leagues Media.
The shutdown has also affected many individuals who worked with the company. Ramish Hussain, Head of Live Production at Leagues Media, announced on LinkedIn that he is leaving the company following its closure. He thanked his colleagues and said he is now open to new opportunities in esports, gaming, and media.
Some freelancers have shared that they are still owed money. One esports producer posted an image of a large unpaid invoice from Leagues ApS, highlighting the scale of the issue.
The closure did not happen suddenly. It followed months of financial problems. The company had trouble paying people on time. For instance, some commentators, also called casters, were paid many months late, sometimes up to eight months after they had already done their work.
This is surprising because things were seemingly going well in 2025. The NLC had strong viewership and good fan interest mainly due to the participation of influencer-led team Los Ratones. However, in 2026, things changed quickly. Viewership dropped massively, specifically because the popular creator-led team left the league to participate in the LEC Winter Split.
In February 2026, the company admitted publicly that it had financial problems. It said it could not secure new funding and confirmed that payments were delayed. By mid-March, the situation became worse. Leagues ApS told Riot Games that it could no longer run the NLC. This happened just weeks before the Spring Split was supposed to start.
By April 2 to 3, the company had fully shut down. All staff were laid off, and operations stopped completely. Although the company is still officially listed in Denmark’s business register for now, that status is expected to change.
Its website is also inactive, and there has been no formal public shutdown announcement. The Esports Radar reached out to Leagues APS for a statement on the case and will update this story as a response or other relevant facts come to light.
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