The esports era of League of Legends stream teams continues — Caedrel’s underdog organization Los Ratones claimed victory at EMEA Masters Winter 2025 on March 23. Only a few days later, Doublelift’s team Near Airport has qualified for the North American Challengers League (NACL) and will enter its first match on March 26. This will begin Near Airport’s “Retirement to Tier 1” challenge and truly put the org’s skills to the test. Let’s recap everything we know about the team and its upcoming NACL run.
League of Legends influencer Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng has extensive experience in esports, with over a decade of pro play and time on teams including Team Liquid, Team Solo-Mid (TSM) and 100 Thieves. After his 2023 season, Doublelift opted to retire from a competitive career but maintained a strong influencer presence. As a content creator, he has over 710,000 subscribers on YouTube and 1.8 million followers on Twitch.
Throughout early 2025, Doublelift began teasing his return to the League of Legends esports sphere with a content-focused team he dubbed the ‘NA Los Ratones’. On March 20 2025, he officially revealed the organization’s full roster and name: titled ‘Near Airport’, its roster exclusively contained ex pros. Doublelift also elaborated on the team’s goals in a stream, saying it would undergo an unprecedented “Retirement to Tier 1 challenge.”
Near Airport Roster:
Related Article: Doublelift Reveals Team ‘Near Airport’ Org and Roster
The North American Challengers League (NACL) is an officially sponsored tournament in the Riot Games in the Americas series. At a higher level, the NACL coexists with the League of Legends Championship of the Americas (LTA) and operates within the circuit at a Tier 2 level.
The NACL is highly prestigious and notable since it offers up-and-coming teams an opportunity to enter the LTA. This occurs through a Promotion Tournament following the season’s conclusion, in which winners access an LTA guest slot. LTA winners will then have several chances to qualify for the League of Legends World Championship (Worlds), the pinnacle of League of Legends esports success.
On March 20 2025, Near Airport’s official YouTube channel announced that the team would officially join the NACL for its 2025 season. Near Airport entered the league through an Open Qualifier that occurred from March 1 to 16 2025. The team placed first in the event, which makes it one of three organizations being promoted to the NACL’s main circuit.
In Near Airport’s NACL announcement video, Doublelift elaborates on the team’s goals, stating:
“We’re going to be streaming pretty much all of our scrims […] and trying to make content that I think people actually want to see […] I just think we can make good, really fun stuff and also just […] build a fun community.”
Doublelift also referenced Los Ratones’ influence on Near Airport, noting: “One thing Los Ratones does really well is, their fans and Caedrel’s entire community, it really feels like a community. Like, they all support each other, and it just feels really interconnected.”
When Will Near Airport Play in the NACL?
Near Airport’s NACL Split 1 participation will begin on March 26 2025 and stretch until the team is eliminated or the tournament ends on May 15 2025. The Split 1 tournament will occur in a single-elimination round-robin format with all best-of-three matches. It will also utilize Hard Fearless Draft, in which teams can only pick Champions once each during the series. The four strongest teams from the NACL Split 1 first stage will progress into the event’s Playoffs phase.
Near Airport’s first matchup in the NACL Split 1 will be against Luminosity Gaming. According to lolesports.com, it will occur at 8:00 PM ET.
How to Watch the NACL
Fans can watch NACL games on YouTube at @nacl. This account livestreams matches and also posts highlights and VODs from previous games. In addition, the NACL has an official Twitch channel with over 358,000 followers at twitch.tv/nacl. Here, Riot Games streams official matches live and fans can also interact with live chat. The NACL’s Twitch also includes key clips and important moments.
On Riot Games’ official League of Legends esports website fans can keep track of NACL brackets and standings. The site also includes news bulletins, team power rankings and more.
