Image: Riot Games
This new setup mirrors VALORANT Champions Tour, which combines domestic leagues with inter-regional competition.
League of Legends (LoL) developer Riot Games has officially revealed the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP) as one of five major regional leagues in the LoL esports ecosystem on Monday (29 September).
First introduced in June in a feature named LoL Esports: Building Towards A Brighter Future, this new league is expected to boost the sustainability of LoL esports in the region while showcasing fresh talent and new rivalries.
Over the past few years, the Asia-Pacific region has seen some very tough competition through the Pacific Championship Series (PCS). The creation of the LCP aims to make this level of competition even better.
By setting regular events between regions, the LCP hopes to make rivals better and make all teams more competitive.
What the Pacific Leagues used to be
Before the LCP's announcement, the Asia-Pacific region was split into several leagues.
The Pacific Championship Series (PCS) covered Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. Meanwhile, the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) is a separate League for Vietnam, the League of Legends Japan League (LJL) for Japan, and the League Circuit Oceania (LCO), were for countries in the Oceania like Australia and New Zealand,
These leagues offered local teams opportunities to qualify for global events like MSI and Worlds, but each region primarily competed in silos, with limited inter-regional competition outside of international tournaments.
This limited the teams’ opportunities to brawl against other teams from other regions, and in effect limited their read of whatever current meta there may be.
The LCP will bring these regions together, creating a more unified structure where top teams from each domestic league will have a clear path to global events.
The Asia-Pacific LoL ecosystem and future plans
The LCP will act as the top regional competition in Asia-Pacific, serving as the only qualifying route for global tournaments starting in 2025, which will include the MSI, Worlds, and a new international event which will be revealed soon.
This new setup mirrors VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), which combines domestic leagues with inter-regional competition, providing emerging teams more opportunities to showcase their talent, to outplay other teams, and climb their way to the top.
Domestic leagues like the PCS, VCS, and LJL will continue to operate, with their best teams competing for spots in the LCP through a promotion and relegation system. These leagues will remain essential for developing talent across the region.
In the future, the Asia-Pacific ecosystem is expected to expand further, offering more opportunities for teams to join the LCP and keeping the competitive landscape dynamic.
More information about the LCP, including teams and tournament formats, will be released in the coming months as the 2025 season approaches.
Fans can expect regular updates as the region prepares for this new chapter in LoL esports.