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Near Airport, a newly-formed League of Legends team led by a legendary ADC Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng, will be competing in the North American Challengers League (NACL) 2025.
The team secured a spot in NACL 2025 Split 1 with a perfect run through the qualifiers, beating L0 Legends, Exodus, University of California Irvine, Respawned Esports, and Friendly Fellas in the finals without dropping a map.
Formed on March 1, Near Airport LoL esports team features well-known names from the North American scene, including eight-time LoL Championship Series (LCS) champion, Doublelift, former TSM and FlyQuest jungler Mingyi “Spica” Lu, veteran mid laner Eugene “Pobelter” Park, support Vincent “Biofrost” Wang, and popular streamer Ashkan “TF Blade” Homayouni.
The project – akin to Europe’s Los Ratones and The Ruddy Sack – was created for former players and known streamers to compete and create content around their journey.
However, Near Airport are now just one step away from joining America’s top league – the League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA).
“I’ve played top lane for the past eight years, and now, for the first time, I’m looking at the pro scene. It’s going to be fun for content, but I’m also taking it more seriously, maybe even competitively,” said TF Blade.
As a roster of former professional players who have since started dedicating their time to creating online content – mainly through streaming – Near Airport will have to overcome their biggest challenge, which is finding time to practice while fulfilling their streaming duties.
“Things aren’t going great in terms of practice. Time commitment is a big issue, and I’m not sure everyone can manage it,” said Doublelift.
“We all have our own streaming schedules, sponsors and personal lives. And Vincent (Biofrost) is still a student.”
Despite the hectic schedule and obstacles the roster will have to overcome, Near Airport are billed as one of the favourites to win NACL 2025 Split 1.
Near Airpot will debut in the NACL 2025 Split 1 on Wednesday, March 26, on the opening day of the split, when they face off against Luminosity Gaming.
Doublelift and co. are priced as -175.44 favourites to win the match on the top LoL betting sites.
