We're teaming up with Maryville University for NACL 2025!

We’re excited to be partnering with Maryville University and their League of Legends program for the upcoming 2025 North American Challengers League season.


This is a big step for DarkZero—not only are we entering League of Legends for the first time, but also stepping into the collegiate scene in a meaningful way. With the recent introduction of LTA promotion, we have a perfect opportunity to work together in pushing the program forward for a chance to qualify for LTA 2026. The team will be competing as DarkZero Dragonsteel, a continued collaboration between Maryville and Brandon Sanderson’s Dragonsteel Entertainment, now supported by DarkZero as part of this new partnership.

Maryville has built one of the most successful collegiate esports programs in North America, fielding teams in League of Legends, Valorant, Overwatch, Rocket League, and Smash. Their LoL team alone has brought home multiple championships in collegiate leagues such as NACE and CLOL, and even won NACL Summer 2024 most recently.


“We’ve been interested in the idea of building a long-term relationship with a collegiate program for a while now, and everything about Maryville—how they’re structured, how they develop talent, and their long-term vision—is in line with our own values.” said Brandon Carr, General Manager of DarkZero. “Through this partnership, we’ll be working closely with Maryville’s leadership, team staff, and players, providing operational and training support in hopes of being a contender for the guest slot later this year.”


DarkZero has been waiting for the right moment to jump into Riot’s League of Legends ecosystem, and we couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity. The NACL Spring Split starts up in a few days on March 26th, and we’re excited to kick things off!