LoL esports is getting its biggest set of changes to date, with tweaks aimed at keeping the esport alive and thriving by finding a more sustainable model closer to that of Valorant. But, this will come at the cost of several teams getting pushed out of the ecosystem.
From the way that teams draft, to the way they qualify for international events, everything from actual gameplay to the structure surrounding LoL esports is shifting globally.
And, while most of the major region Leagues like the LCK, LPL, and LEC aren’t seeing much structural change, these moves make minor region leagues and the LCS look much different from before.
First up are multi-regional leagues. The Americas League will consist of North and South conferences. The North conference will consist of six current LCS teams, with two teams on the chopping block. The CBLOL, meanwhile, has 10 teams currently, meaning four teams will get cut.
Then, each conference will get one LLA team based on regional placement. With the LLA being a six-team League, that means four of those teams will be chopped.
Each conference will get one relegation slot as well, meaning that any of the cut teams could realistically qualify for their conference via Tier 2 competition. Content creator orgs could also make a run at promotion, meaning MrBeast finally has that opportunity to sign a League team like he’s always wanted.
That said, the bonus spot in the conference will only last a single season, at which point that team will be forced to earn their spot back or lose it. Franchised teams will be cemented in their leagues and won’t be relegated.
Next up is the APAC league, a league that’ll form from every Tier 2 region in Asia as well as teams from Australia. Between the LCO (AUS), VCS (Vietnam), PCS (Asia-Pacific), and LJL (Japan), there will only be eight teams in total.
This proposed APAC League will have its own method of team selection, as well as methods of teams being relegated/promoted into the league, but this will also result in several teams getting axed.
The four aforementioned Tier 2 leagues have 28 teams total (LCO with eight, PCS with seven, LJL has six, and VCS currently fields seven).
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Considering the VCS matchfixing scandal that ravaged the league and Beyond Gaming choosing to drop out of the PCS for budget reasons, it’s easy to see why the regions are being condensed.
However, this also means that at least 20 teams getting cut from their ecosystem in APAC and will be forced to qualify back in without the money being in a widely represented league can bring.
There’s a chance that teams that don’t make the cut for this new structure will qualify by going through Tier 2, but the fight for that slot will be very competitive.
If none of these teams that get axed from their current LoL esports league structures make it, 30 teams in total will be displaced and in a much worse spot to acquire sponsors to stay alive as an org.
On top of all that, there will be a new, currently unnamed, international event to kick off the year with five teams, one from each of the new regional leagues (Americas, LEC, LCK, LPL, APAC) that’ll qualify to compete.
MSI will now be only 10 teams, two from each of the five regions. Worlds will be cut down to 17 teams: The MSI Champions get one slot, the best-performing region gets an extra slot, and each of the five regions will get three slots.
This, on top of the implementation of Fearless Draft to mix up the champions we see in pro play, is sure to spice up the competition for the teams that remain.
These changes may make things more sustainable across the board. However, they will also leave many teams out to dry and drastically condense the esport.
