DivisionONE's First Pro Class: Six Signings and a Shot at the LCS

Collegiate tournaments are a great way to bridge the path towards pro-tournaments, and DivisionONE showed just that. Some collegiate players from its first group of colleges were picked up for professional play from our League of Legends and VALORANT tournaments, games created by Riot Games. Maryville, the winner of both Fall and Spring splits, also made a pro-league splash. As the second year of DivisionONE starts up soon, it’s worth highlighting those alums' accomplishments.

League of Legends

Recently, Maryville University made collegiate history by being the first college to qualify for the LCS Promotion Tournament. This Promotion Tournament has Disguised, a North American esports team, defending their 2026 guest spot by facing four teams from October 5-12. Whoever wins the LAN finals in Mexico City will get the 2027 LCS guest slot. This is an annual requalification event. Maryville was chosen as one of the four teams after securing second-place from the North American Challengers League (NACL) Summer Playoffs. DivisionONE players like Crimson and ScaryJerry will now be fighting for an LCS guest spot alongside their teammates Yuuji, AoJune, and Obstinatus. This roster is a mixture of Maryville students and international transfers.

Sheep Esports has a great article on Maryville’s pro appearances here.

Individual players from DivisionONE’s League of Legends tournament went pro from the first- and second-place colleges, Maryville and Winthrop. The League Championship Series (LCS) is run by Riot Games is the top level of professional esports in North America. Professional esports organizations are always looking for talent to join their teams. Three players that participated in DivisionONE were scouted. These players are:

• Phymini (Maryville) joined NRG as a mid-laner in February 2026 and is active. NRG placed fourth in the NACL 2026 Summer Playoffs on September 9th.
• Cryogen (Maryville) joined FlyQuest as a support in December 2025 and is active. FlyQuest recently got fifth place in the LCS 2026 Summer tournament on September 6th.
• Denathor (Winthrop) joined Dignitas as a top-laner in July 2026 with his contract extending to November 2028. Dignitas scored eighth place in the LCS 2026 Summer tournament on September 6th.

Valorant

The VALORANT side of DivisionONE also has a few players that have found pro-play success during and after the season. Its LCS variant is the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT), first started in 2021, that similarly has multiple smaller tournaments leading up to it. Maryville and Winthrop, once again, had a player from each that was scouted by professional organizations. Those players are:

• Chloric (Maryville) joined Natus Vincere in April 2026 and played in the VCT 2026: EMEA Stage 2. Now, he is listed as inactive, meaning he’s still with them but is allowed to explore other offers.
• Glyph (Winthrop) joined Gentlemates in November 2025 and is now with ENVY in an inactive state as of September 2026. His last recorded match with ENVY was in the VCT Americas: Stage 2 - Play Ins in August 2026.
• Gia (Stony Brook) joined Cloud9 Game Changers in July 2026 and is still active. Her most recent tournament with Cloud9 Gamechangers was in the Game Changers 2026: North America Stage 2.
  

A new set of colleges and pro-potential players are coming in October as year two of DivisionONE gets set up. Watch, follow, and/or subscribe to DivisionONE on Twitch for its [League of Legends](https://www.twitch.tv/divisiononelol) or [Valorant](https://www.twitch.tv/divisiononeval) tournament and on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@div1esports), [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@divoneesports), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/divoneesports), and [X](https://x.com/DivOneEsports). Make sure to check out our website for Year One stats and to observe what happens in Year Two.