Image: Riot Games
The existing leagues in the APAC and Americas are being consolidated into two new mutli-regional leagues.
The League of Legends (LoL) esports scene is getting another major revamp in the form of two new multi-regional leagues in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Americas regions in a bid to increase the competitiveness of the entire circuit.
The new multi-regional APAC league will include the existing leagues in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao, Japan, Oceania, and the rest of Southeast Asia while the Americas will feature North and South conferences for North and South America, respectively.
What to know about the new LoL APAC league
LoL’s new multi-regional APAC league will feature a total of eight teams from Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao, Japan, Oceania, and the rest of Southeast Asia. Which teams will enter this new multi-regional league will be determined by the results of the 2024 PCS and VCS Summer Split Playoffs.
LoL publisher Riot Games is also working on a new hybrid partnership and promotion/relegation league model for the new multi-regional APAC league, though details for these new systems will be released at a later date.
What to know about the new LoL Americas league
Meanwhile, the new multi-regional Americas league will feature a North-South conference system for the existing leagues in North and South America. The Northern conference will feature the existing LoL Championship Series league while the Southern conference will feature the Brazilian leagues, with teams from the Latin American leagues and guest teams also included in both.
The two conferences will each feature a total of eight teams. Six of those teams will be from the existing partnered teams, one team from LoL’s Latin American league based on geographical alignment, and one guest team spot for promotion and relegation through the Tier 2 system.
In addition, the Americas league will also operate with a three-split season. Here’s how each Split will work:
- Split 1: Teams would first compete within their respective conferences, with top performers qualifying for cross-conference play where a single team will qualify for the new global tournament.
- Split 2: For the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), the top team from each conference would secure one slot, a total of two Americas teams.
- Split 3: An Americas Regional Championship would determine three teams advancing to Worlds, with at least one team from each conference.
Riot is also planning on releasing further details on the selection process for teams in the North and South conferences, outlining the competitive structure for each split, sharing plans to enhance cross-conference play, and providing updates to the Tier-2 system throughout the Americas in the Fall.
Refinements to international event slot distribution
With the LoL esports scene set to feature a total of five regions in South Korea, China, EMEA, APAC, and the Americas in 2025, Riot will also be refining the division of berths at international events. This also includes the newly-announced season-start tournament, which will be the third major international tournament alongside the MSI and Worlds in LoL’s annual esports circuit.
Each region will have one slot at the season-start tournament, which has five total teams; two slots at MSI, which has 10 total teams; and three slots at Worlds. In addition, the MSI Champion and the second best-performing region would continue to earn additional Worlds slots for their leagues, bringing the total number of teams at Worlds to 17.
Worlds 2025 will also feature Play-Ins as a single best-of-five match, with the winner joining the other 15 qualified teams directly in the Swiss stage.
“In addition to optimizing our business model with pro teams, we’ve also looked for ways to increase the competitiveness and stakes of our regional leagues overall. To that end, we’ll begin conversations with teams in seven of our regions around our intention to form multi-region leagues. LoL Esports fans clearly enjoy region-vs.-region battles and the fandom and passion tied to geographic pride,” Riot Games said in a press release.
The addition of the new multi-regional leagues in APAC and the Americas is just one of three major overhauls being implemented in the LoL esports ecosystem for the 2025 season. The two other major changes include the addition of a third international event around the beginning of the season and the implementation of the “Fearless Draft” mode in competitive play.
