Change is upon us in the LCS with Riot Games’ 2025 announcement. These changes will see the dawning of a new era in competitive League of Legends, with the LCS, LLA, and CBLoL merging to form a new Americas league.
The reactions from the community have been a fairly mixed bag since the Riot announcement was first made. For North America, it’s an opportunity to correct the errors of the past. For South America, it’s an unwelcome change. But what do the players think?
During the opening weeks of LCS Summer Split, Online Esports collected the thoughts of Busio, Olleh, and Tomio; three young players expected to play a big part in the LCS’ future. We discussed their initial thoughts on the news of the Americas merger and how this will impact League‘s tier-two scene in NA. The merger will see two conferences: The North conference for the LCS and the South conference for the CBLoL. Each league will have eight teams, split into six from the existing domestic leagues, one from LLA, and an achievable guest slot. This guest slot will see teams from the tier two scene promoted and relegated each season.
Tomio and Busio are products of the NACL, NA’s developmental league. Getting promoted from the NACL to the LCS is no easy task, with many promising players never receiving their opportunity to flourish in a tier-one major league. Both players know the struggle for young players looking for their opportunity. Busio described the merger changes as “good for the league,” before explaining further on the developmental path. “Adding the LLA team and a team from challengers is good for showcasing talent and development,” he said.
In the previous system, winning the NACL was great for the players, but there was no reward at the end of it. Before franchising, NA had the promotion and relegation tournament. And while the league did not handle that system well, there was still a “path to pro” that disappeared at the beginning of franchising. The new Americas merger will again allow young players to reach the pinnacle of League esports. “It is really good for the tier two scene because usually tier two is like: You play a regular season, then you go playoffs, then you go finals, and there’s no guarantee of promoting or playing LCS. But now there is,” said Tomio.
Tomio echoed the phrase that every young North American player will tell you: “Everybody wants to play in the LCS.” And with the Americas merger, they will get that opportunity in 2025. Players can be assured that their spot will not be flipped for a profit.
One of the major problems with the promotion and relegation tournament previously was certain organizations would use it to generate money by getting promoted to the LCS and then selling off its roster for a quick buck. LCS commissioner Mark Zimmerman addressed this issue a couple of weeks ago on LCS podcast The Dive, intending to protect players from getting their promotion removed.
Regarding the impact of tier two, Tomio believes it will further motivate young players who were not sure about committing to becoming League pro players. “I think there are some rosters that some players are on and I can see they’re not sure if they want to commit to playing professional League,” he told Dot. “And now, since there is a reward for winning, it will help the players a lot.”
But how will the Americas merger impact the current state of the LCS? The league already reintroduced best-of-threes for the Summer Split. These changes have been positive for the league so far, with many pros enjoying the extra games they play on stage each week. From 2025, the Americas league will take it a step further. Fearless draft will be added to the mix, which should mean more dynamic drafts and creative picks in the league. Busio welcomes the addition. “Fearless drafts can also be refreshing as they will show more unique picks, and teams will have to get creative with drafts,” the support told Dot.
Tomio thinks the changes are “not bad,” but believes the offseason will be chaotic. With the reduction to six main North American rosters, players will have fewer job opportunities. “There will be a lot of players, and they will have to choose their roster carefully or make hard decisions,” he said, and he’s correct. There will be limited spots, and players will need to make tough career decisions. This could, in theory, boost the tier two scene; more organizations could look to join the league with LCS-level talent making their way to the NACL.
Sadly for Olleh, the news of the Americas league did not immediately excite him, but instead brought up some bad memories. In 2017, Riot announced it would be moving to a franchised model for North America, which meant some teams in the league at the time would not be in the LCS moving forward.
This was the case for Immortals despite being one of the NA representatives at the 2017 League of Legends World Championship. “The first time I heard the news, I had a flashback to 2017 Immortals,” Olleh told us. “We went to the World Championship, and after finishing, I realized my team had just gone. I am just imagining if I go to the World Championship again this year, and then randomly, we are out of the LCS, I’ll be like, ‘Oh my god, flashback, am I cursed or not?’”
It is a harsh reality for the players, competing in a league that may not have a spot for them or, potentially worse, their organization next year. Not every player can lock in and completely shut out the outside noise. For Olleh and Immortals, it’s about survival. “I have no information on whether Immortals will be gone next year,” he said. “But we were saying as a team that we are just going to do our best and hope we survive next year.”
