Riot Games has announced a partnership with two companies for the new season of its League of Legends Japan League (LJL).

PlayBrain and Yoshimoto Creative Agency have joined in a multi-year partnership to help produce and host the LJL.

PlayBrain, a marketing agency and events production company, will take the lead in creative direction and operation of the events throughout the year. Mike Sheetal, CEO of PlayBrain said: “We are excited to continue to grow LJL as a leading esports event in Japan. With the current opportunities for growth in Japanese esports, we feel uniquely positioned to connect the Japanese esports community with the rest of the world, and turn Japanese competitions into world class events. Our partnership with Riot Games and Yoshimoto to run LJL is a key step towards this mission.”

Yoshimoto, famous for being the talent agency for legendary comedy duo Downtown and producing the show Gaki no Tsukai, will be responsible for bringing the LJL to a new location: the Mugen Hall in Shibuya. They will also help in promoting the event as well as managing talent for the league.

Shinji Komiyama, Country Manager of Riot Games Japan said: “We are very excited about this year’s LJL and I am very much looking forward to working with PlayBrain who have also worked with us to produce LJL in the past. We can now scale up our relationship as business partners. We would like to create a world-class esports culture in Japan based on three key areas, competitiveness, experience and ecosystem. We feel we have the best partners in PlayBrain with their knowhow, and Yoshimoto with their infrastructure.”

The LJL will also be following the trend of utilising Alienware as their PC and Display sponsor, and will be broadcast exclusively on Twitch through this Spring Season. The season begins on Saturday, running through March.

Esports Insider says: While the LJL has been running for a number of years, this is the first step towards an active partnership with companies within Japan. This could signal a deeper level of development within the Japanese scene.

Follow ESI on Instagram