Well, on January 18 it begins, but we're close enough. Also, for a host of our regular readers, the announcement of Brisbane as being the Grand Final host city should come as some very good news.

Here's the complete release:

OPL, which will start on January 18, is shifting to a new best-of-three format (Bo3). To accommodate the move to Bo3, the league will now be broadcast three nights per week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 6pm (AEST) on twitch.tv/RiotGamesOceania for a total of ten weeks.

The Oceanic Challenger Series (OCS) and Oceanic Open Ladder (OOL), the feeder leagues into the OPL, will also have a makeover, becoming round robins rather than tournaments.

“We've made some fundamental improvements to how our three leagues function and interconnect,” commented Daniel Ringland, esports Manager, Riot Games Oceania.

“The new OPL structure provides the foundations to support the growth of our teams into strong clubs with passionate supporters, while the changes to the OCS and OOL create greater opportunities for the next generation of pro players, ensuring cleaner transition to top-level play and raising the skill ceiling of our leagues.”

Following the success of the 2015 OPL Grand Final at Luna Park Sydney, which saw over 10,000 attendees, the Courier-Mail Piazza in Brisbane has been chosen as the venue for the 2016 Grand Final. Slated for August 13, the final will feature a best-of-five match between the top two teams from Split 2 and the champion will qualify for the International Wildcard Qualifier for a crack at Worlds. Ticket details for the Grand Final will be announced later this year so players have plenty of time to plan their attendance.

You can also check out an infographic highlighting how this season is going to work.

Hands up if you're in Bris Vegas and are likely to attend the Grand Final.