A UGS publicou no seu site oficial uma notícia com informações da NEL (National E-Sports League), competição que é apenas jogada em LAN, e que já foi anteriormente testada noutros países, como na Suécia, mas que ficou marcada pelo fracasso, já que as principais equipas não aceitaram o desafio.

O site desta liga americana está previsto para ser lançado a 6 de Abril, e pode-se ler em baixo a notícia publicada no site da UGS:

“The National E-Sports League announces the NEL website release date of April 6, 2005.

The National E-Sports League presents North America with the first professional style LAN center based league. The competition will bring national exposure and prizes up to $100,000.00 to the local teams and LAN centers. The initial three league games are Counter Strike 1.6, Call of Duty and Counter Strike Source. The purse leagues will be Counter Strike 1.6 and Call of Duty. In addition to the seasonal league competition and purses, NEL will be offering region wide LAN tournaments every few weeks with large cash prizes and a variety of games.

The league will organize North America into three regions: East, Central, and West, each with North and South conferences. Each conference will have multiple divisions. Teams will play regular seasons within their divisions then move to conference and regional playoffs. The top teams will then play for the National Championship.

Most players and teams compete online from the solitude of their homes with little or no chance of recognition or prize money for their efforts. NEL is changing that. Playing from official arenas and over league servers allows for the playing field to be level and fair. Bringing players together as local teams provides a tremendous opportunity for spectators and sponsors to experience and support their teams on a weekly basis, as well as develop the community in the direction that it should go.

Competitions will be broadcasted on HLTV, streaming video, internet radio and tracked on the bracket system of the NEL website. This strengthens LAN centers, the teams and the community by supplying a place for spectators, friends, and family to support and watch their favorite teams and players. Like traditional stadiums, the LAN center becomes our stadium for teams to practice and compete while offering a premier location for socialization.”

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