Riot Games today revealed new plans for League of Legends Esports (LoL Esports) in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), kicking off its second decade and writing an exciting new chapter in its history. The plans include making fundamental changes to the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) and bringing together Europe, Turkey, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) into one competitive region: Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

With these ecosystem changes, LoL Esports aspires to become the future of esports in EMEA and elevate the level of competition in the region. It will pave the way for many players from across the region to enter EMEA Masters (EM) and provide an opportunity to showcase their skills to LEC teams. It will also provide EMEA fans with greater opportunities to witness high-level competition and hopes to unite EMEA fans through their love of the sport.

Maximilian Peter Schmidt, League of Legends Esports Area Manager, EMEA said:

Over the past decade, our team has worked hard to build an innovative esports ecosystem. Today, we’re excited to reveal our roadmap for the next decade of LoL Esports in EMEA and reveal the changes we’ve made to the LEC and the broader ecosystem to continue delivering the best experience for our players. “We’re focused on delivering the best possible competition for our players. These changes will increase opportunities for professional and aspiring LoL players in the region, paving the way for them to reach the elite level of competition in EMEA.”

Fundamental changes to the LEC and the broader ecosystem from 2023 include:

LEC

• The LEC will be rebranded as the League of Legends EMEA Championships, with an interesting adjustment or revamp of the season, changes to the format of the competition itself and the introduction of the LEC Season Finals
• The competition will be held across three splits: Winter, Spring, and Summer, with the Winter Split and Spring Split taking place before MSI, and the Summer Split and LEC Season Finals taking place after MSI and before the League of Legends World Championship.
• Each division will begin with a single competition on a round-robin basis. This will be followed by a best-of-three double-elimination group stage featuring the top eight teams, before the competition concludes with a four-team double-elimination round featuring the best two out of five teams in a playoff.
• The season will culminate in the LEC Season Finals, which will feature the top six teams from the entire season – with the winners automatically qualifying – and the top teams from the competition qualifying for Worlds. The LEC Season Finals also features a promotional event on the final weekend of the competition.

Ecosystem in Europe, Middle East and AfricaERLs

• Europe, Turkey, CIS, Middle East and North Africa will merge under the name EMEA into a single unified competitive region for LoL Esports to create a multi-tiered esports ecosystem that sets standards for excellence in competition and entertainment.
• The unification of the region will mark the union of the TCL (Turkey's Championship League) and the AL (Arab League, formerly Intel Arab Cup) into the newly renamed ERL (EMEA Regional League) circuit.
• The EU Masters will transform into the EMEA Masters (EM) – the regional competition – giving more teams from across the new, unified region the opportunity to qualify and participate in the tournament and giving players the chance to showcase their talent
• The changes mean that all players based in Europe, Turkey, the CIS and MENA regions can compete freely in the LEC and will not be subject to a regional movement policy, providing aspiring pros from the region with even more pathways to the top of the best professional league in Europe, the Middle East and Africa: the LEC.
• LCL will remain on hold until further notice. Riot will continue to monitor the landscape and evaluate the possibility of including the league in the expanded ERL ecosystem at a later date.

Naz Aletaha, President of League of Legends Esports, said:

Over the past decade, EMEA has been constantly evolving, from the transition from the EU LCS to the LEC, creating the strongest cross-sport development ecosystem to date as we expand the region. “As we plan for the future of LoL Esports, we are paying close attention to building on the foundations we laid in our first decade, transforming the overall competitive landscape into a meaningful, multi-layered ecosystem, and maintaining that trajectory for years to come.