WePlay Academy League was founded in 2021 by WePlay Esports in collaboration with several esports organizations. Its goal is to provide aspiring esports stars the opportunity to showcase their skills and learn more about the professional esports business from the inside. With a focus on junior teams, this tournament series is the perfect place for young prodigies to display their abilities and make a name for themselves in the world of CS:GO. There’s a lot more to the WePlay Academy League than just competition. The design team worked tirelessly to create a visual identity for the tournament that would stand out from the crowd. Everything was done with one goal in mind: to provide viewers with a unique, memorable experience.

The WePlay Academy League design package included a variety of elements, like the design of two studios, a tournament arena, graphic elements used for overlays, broadcast, social media, and promotional materials.

Each design detail was essential for the bigger picture of the project. The WePlay Academy League used any possibility to stay unique — it even developed custom CS:GO duel maps. The maps showed short stories of animated hosts’ characters that were both entertaining and engaging.

The filmmaking team behind the WePlay Academy League deserves recognition for their remarkable work. They released animated series called Bootcamp and Curling Around the World featuring CS:GO characters, which appealed to the audience of the tournament circuit. The team managed to capture the essence of the game and bring the characters to life.

They also created in-game sketches with animated images of hosts and coaches of the event. These sketches would entertain spectators during the time-outs between matches and made the wait time more interactive. The combination of animation and gaming made for an exciting and immersive experience.

The overall aesthetic of the WePlay Academy League is designed to reflect the tournament’s educational nature. Drawing inspiration from classic Western student sports leagues, the design team created a logo that looks like a shield bearing the tournament name in all caps. The primary color used in the design is green, which is meant to represent the youthful vigor and enthusiasm of the tournament participants. Plus, the team used interchangeable palettes that progressed from season to season.

WePlay Esports created a sports-like identity for the tournament that’s recognizable from the first moments. From season to season, the design doesn’t change — it only improves.

To ensure that the tournament design was appropriate for the participants’ age and adhered to the policy of non-violence, the team transformed guns and grenades into toys with soft, rounded edges filled with sweets and confetti. A number of elements were restyled to give the main stylistic features more life, such as the plastic guns and sweets, which have been enhanced to look more realistic.

One of the most exciting aspects of the WePlay Academy League is the LAN event. This is where the players’ emotions are transmitted to the fans through vivid statistics and other graphical elements. Computer graphics are used to create a sporty atmosphere, but during the LAN event, there is much more focus on the players’ game — CG just provides added value.

When it comes to making a LAN event a real show, a team has a number of different elements to work on. Starting from the very beginning, when the players first appear on the stage, CG is already here to bring a full-fledged experience. Here, the task of the graphic elements is to convey the atmosphere and emotion of what is happening onstage to the viewer. The presentation of the players, displaying highlights of the games and game events that also happen onstage, the announcement of the winner, and the awards ceremony — all of this comes accompanied by CG and emphasized thanks to it.

Due to the Russian war in Ukraine, the LAN events were suspended for the safety of the staff and participants of the tournament. However, you can watch the recorded streams from the first seasons on our YouTube channel.

In general, the WePlay Academy League is unique not just as an extraordinary event but also on the whole, as a series. And as the players develop from season to season, the league itself develops too. The viewers see how the format changes, the design improves, and new elements appear — all this adds to the spice of the game itself.

Follow event news to see how the WePlay Academy League will evolve in the future. It is a major new esports world series that focuses on junior teams and boasts an impressive design. This event is a hit with both players and fans.