The regional league is changing course after two seasons as Riot looks to make APAC competition more sustainable.
The League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP) is opening up its competitive structure in 2027, with teams returning to their home leagues before fighting their way into the LCP.
Riot Games announced in a press release on Monday (21 September) that every team will begin each split at the domestic level in the PCS, VCS, or LJL next year. The best-performing teams will then advance to the LCP, which will become the bracket stage bringing APAC's top teams together.
How will the LCP format change in 2027?
Under the new structure, teams will no longer spend the entire season competing primarily within the LCP ecosystem. Instead, every split will begin with domestic competition across the PCS, VCS, and LJL.
Teams will then qualify from those leagues into the LCP, where they will compete against the strongest sides from across APAC. The LCP will remain the top level of competition in the region and the sole route for APAC teams to qualify for international League of Legends events.
The change also opens qualification to significantly more teams. Under the current system, domestic teams receive one opportunity each year to reach the LCP through the Promotion Series, with only a limited number from each league getting the chance to compete for promotion. From 2027, every team competing in the PCS, VCS, and LJL will have an opportunity to qualify for the LCP during each split.
Wild Card regions will also retain a path into the league. Slot distribution, the competition format, and further details on how Wild Card tournaments can directly connect to the LCP will be announced in the coming months.
LCP teams will return to their home regions
The format change will also allow teams to base their operations in their respective home regions rather than relocating to Taipei for the season.
Relocation costs were identified as one of the problems with the current LCP structure, particularly as operating expenses continued to increase. Having teams based outside their home markets also reduced opportunities for in-person fan engagement and meant players could spend long periods away from family and their support networks.
Returning teams to domestic competition is intended to lower those operating costs while giving organisations more opportunities to work with local fans, communities, and partners throughout the season.
It will also create a more direct competitive journey for supporters, beginning with domestic leagues before progressing through the LCP and potentially into global events.
Global Revenue Pool support will continue in 2027
The Global Revenue Pool will remain part of the LCP ecosystem under the new system. Current LCP teams will continue receiving Regional GRP support in 2027, including teams that earn promotion or successfully defend their places in the upcoming Promotion Series.
For teams entering through the Promotion Series, an LCP place will carry a direct share of the Regional GRP. The system will also expand opportunities for domestic teams to receive revenue support. With every domestic team able to qualify for the LCP and potentially reach an international event, teams that qualify for global tournaments will become eligible for Global Event GRP.
That means a team's potential revenue share will increasingly depend on how far it progresses competitively rather than solely on where it began the season.
LCP changes follow two seasons of APAC growth
The restructuring comes after two seasons under the LCP format, which was introduced to bring APAC's strongest teams into more regular inter-regional competition.
The league recorded nearly 500,000 peak viewers during the 2025 LCP Mid Season Finals, while CTBC Flying Oyster reached the top eight at Worlds 2025. The run marked the first time since 2015 that an APAC team had advanced to the World Championship quarterfinals.
Vietnamese teams then moved to the front of the regional competition in 2026, with Team Secret Whales sweeping every LCP title during the season and becoming the first APAC team to defeat an LPL opponent in a best-of-five series. The current LCP system also introduced a route for teams from Wild Card regions through the Promotion Series, something that will continue when the wider qualification structure arrives in 2027.
More information on the 2027 LCP format will be released through the league's official social channels, including Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok.
