Jump to content

League of LegendsEMEA Championship

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from2014 EU LCS season)

League of LegendsEMEA Championship
Most recent season or competition:
2024 LEC season
FormerlyEuropeanLeague of LegendsChampionship Series (2013–2018)
League of LegendsEuropean Championship (2019–2022)
GameLeague of Legends
Founded2013
Owner(s)Riot Games
CommissionerArtem Bykov
Motto"We Are EU"
No. of teams10
HeadquartersAdlershof,Berlin,Germany
ContinentEurope (2013–2022)
Europe, Middle East and Africa(since 2023)
Most recent
champion(s)		G2 Esports(16th title)
(Season Finals 2024)
Most titlesG2 Esports (16 titles)
International cup(s)Mid-Season Invitational
World Championship
Related
competitions		LCS,LCK,LPL
Official websitelolesports

TheLeague of LegendsEMEA Championship(LEC) is the professionalLeague of Legendsesportsleaguerun byRiot Gamesin the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region, in which ten teams compete. Each annual season of play is divided into three splits, winter, spring and summer, all consisting of three weeks ofround-robin tournamentplay, which then conclude with play-off tournaments between the top six teams. At the end of the season, the top performing teams qualify for the annualLeague of LegendsWorld Championship.The LEC represents the highest level ofLeague of Legendsplay in the EMEA.

With the exception of some touring events, all games of the LEC are played live at the Riot Games Arena inAdlershof,Berlin,Germany.[1]In addition to a small studio audience, all games are streamed live in several languages onTwitchandYouTube,with broadcasts regularly attracting over 300,000 viewers.[2]

The popularity and success of the LEC has attracted significant media attention. On 30 September 2016, theFrench Senateunanimously adopted the last version of theLaw for a Digital Republic[fr],significantly improving the visa process for LEC players and esports athletes in general, giving a legal framework to esports contracts, introducing mechanisms to ensure payment of cash prizes, specifying rights for minor esport athletes, and more.[3]A few months before,Francealso introduced a new esports federation, "France Esports", which has the duty to be a representative body of esports towards the government and serve as a "partner of theFrench National Olympic and Sports Committeefor all matters relating to the recognition of electronic sports as sport in itself ".[4]Spaindid the same in November 2016, creating the Spanish Federation of Video Games and Esports Spanish Federation of Video Games and Esports.[5][6]The LEC has attracted sponsorships from LG UltraGear,Kia,[7]Red Bull,[8]andErste Group.[9]

Fnaticis the only team remaining that has played in every split since the inaugural2013 Spring Split.

The LEC announced a controversial sponsorship deal withNeomin 2020. Many of the league's staff threatened a walkout,[10]which led to the sponsorship being cancelled.

Previous names

[edit]
  • 2013–2018:European League of Legends Championship Series(EU LCS)
  • 2019–2022:League of Legends European Championship(LEC)
  • 2023–present:League of Legends EMEA Championship(LEC)

History

[edit]

Riot Games launched League of Legends in October 2009 and attracted attention from the competitive gaming community.[11]The first two seasons of competitive play consisted of a series of tournaments mostly organised by third parties, such asIntel Extreme Mastersin Europe, capped by aworld championshiptournament hosted by Riot Games.[citation needed]

Riot Games announced the formation of the LCS on 6 August 2012,[12]creating a fully professional league run by the company with a regular schedule and guaranteed salaries for players, featuring eight teams. Since the LCS was only launched in the third year of professional play, it was dubbed "Season 3". The top three finishers in the Riot Games European regional championships held in August 2012 automatically qualified, with the remaining five teams being decided in qualifier tournaments held in January 2013. Each LCS season is divided into two splits for spring and summer; the first games of the first spring split took place on 7 February 2013 in North America and on 9 February 2013 in Europe.

Season 3 of the LCS finished with the top three finishersFnatic,Lemondogs, andGambit Gaming.The top three teams advanced to theSeason 3 World Championships.

Riot Games changed naming conventions in 2014, calling the season the "2014 Season" instead of "Season 4". TheLeague of Legends Challenger Serieswas created as a second tier of competition forpromotion and relegation.[13]

At the end of the 2014 season, an expansion tournament was held in Europe that added two teams in region, giving the LCS a total of 10 teams for the start of the 2015 Season.[14]Additionally, Riot introduced the concept of "Championship points", which teams would earn based on performance across both splits and playoffs in order to qualify for theLeague of Legends World Championship.[15]

A new sale of sponsorship rule was instated for the 2015 season. As a result, several teams were forced to rebrand and leave their respective parent organisations.

The 2015 Summer European LCS Finals were played atHovet Arena,Stockholm.The series ended withFnaticwinning 3–2 overOrigenand peaked at close to 1 million concurrent viewers onTwitch,YouTube,andAzubu– the highest number of viewers for any LCS match to date.

The 2016 Spring European LCS finals were held atRotterdam AhoyinRotterdam,withG2winning 3–1 against Origen, making it their first LCS title. The 2016 Spring European LCS split was the first time G2 played in the professional LCS after having been promoted due to winning the European Challenger Series and European Promotion Tournament in summer 2016.

The 2016 Summer European LCS finals were played at theTauron ArenainKraków,Poland.G2 won 3–1 againstSplyceand secured their second LCS title.Splycewould later win the 2016 Summer European Gauntlet and qualify for Worlds as the third-seeded European team.

The 2017 Spring European LCS finals were held at theBarclaycard ArenainHamburg,Germany,where G2 won 3–1 againstUnicorns of Love,securing their third LCS title and qualifying for the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), an annually-held international League of Legends competition. G2 placed second at the MSI 2017, losing 1–3 toSKT T1,the Korean representatives, in the finals. The Summer Split LCS finals took place in Paris at theAccorHotel Arena,[16]whereG2 Esportswon 3–0 againstMisfits Gaming.

In 2019 the league rebranded from the "Europe League Championship Series" (EU LCS) to the "League of Legends European Championship" (LEC) and began franchising.[17]Following the example of North America'sLCS,which franchised a year prior, the LEC selected ten permanent franchise partners, replacing the previous promotion and relegation format. The EU LCS' secondary league, the EU Challenger Series (EUCS), was consequently discontinued and replaced with an independent tournament named European Masters, which features the top teams from Europe's many regional leagues.[18]

In 2020, the league announced via their public Twitter account a partnership with a proposedSaudi Arabiancity,Neom.Following major community backlash over thehuman rights abuses in the country,including criminalization of LGBT people, the partnership was called off the next day. Another two days later, the league's Director of Esports EMEA, Alberto Guerrero, put out a statement apologizing to the community for the partnership decision, with emphasis on apologizing to 'women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and League of Legends players in the Middle East'.[19]

Since 2023,Turkey,CISandMENAhave merged with Europe region to become a EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region. The "League of LegendsEuropean Championship"become the" League of LegendsEMEA Championship",meaning teams from Turkey andCIS's leagues (TCL,LCL) will no longer get direct slots for theMid-Season Invitationaland theWorld Championship.TCL will be a qualification of Tier-2 league EMEA Masters.

Current format

[edit]

Since the rebrand of the league in 2023, 10 teams, selected through franchising, compete in the LEC. Each season is divided into three splits. The regular season of each split consists of 3 weeks of play, in which each team plays each other once in a single round-robin format, for a total of 9 games each. The top 8 teams proceed to a double-elimination bracket to crown a split champion (In 2023, this was a double-elimination group stage from which the top 2 teams of each group competed in a four-team double elimination playoff bracket). Each split's playoffs award cash prizes and Championship Points, which are used to determine seeding for the season finals.

The three split champions, plus the second and third place teams in the summer split and additional teams based on Championship Points, compete in the season finals. The season finals is a double elimination bracket, with the top 4 seeds qualifying for the upper bracket.

Overview (2024)

[edit]

Stage 1

[edit]
  • 10 teams
  • Single round-robin, best of one
  • Top 8 teams advance to Stage 2

Stage 2

[edit]
  • 8 teams
  • Double elimination, best of three for the first two rounds of the upper and lower bracket, best of five from then on

The winners of the winter (as seed 2) and spring (as seed 1) splits qualify for theMid-Season Invitational.If winter's winner takes championship in spring, previous seeding will be transferred to the team with the next highest championship points.

The top 3 teams of each season finals qualify for theWorld Championship,although if one of the LEC representatives at the Mid-Season Invitational wins MSI or if the LEC is the second-best performing region at MSI, four teams will qualify from the LEC. The summer split champions, if they didn't qualify via the season finals, would enter Worlds as the lowest seed.

Teams

[edit]
Team First appearance Roster Coach
Top Jungle Mid Bot Support
Fnatic Spring 2013 Oscarinin Razork Humanoid Noah Jun Nightshare
G2 Esports Spring 2016 BrokenBlade Yike Caps Hans Sama Mikyx Dylan Falco
GIANTX Spring 2019[a] Th3Antonio Juhan Jackies Patrik IgNar Kaas
Karmine Corp Winter 2024[b] Canna Closer Vladi Upset Targamas Reha
MAD Lions KOI Spring 2020[c] Myrwn Elyoya Fresskowy Supa Alvaro Melzhet
Rogue Spring 2019[d] Finn Markoon Larssen Comp Zoelys fredy122
SK Gaming Spring 2013 Irrelevant ISMA Nisqy Rahel Luon Swiffer
Team BDS[fr] Spring 2022[e] Adam Sheo nuc Ice Labrov Striker
Team Heretics[es] Winter 2023[f] Wunder Jankos Zwyroo Flakked Trymbi Machuki
Team Vitality Spring 2016 Photon Lyncas Vetheo Carzzy Hylissang Pad & Carter

Media coverage

[edit]

The LEC primarily reaches its viewers throughonline streamingusing its own channels onTwitchandYouTube.On Twitch alone, viewership numbers regularly exceed 200,000 for regular season play,[24]and the games have drawn over 1.7 million unique visitors.[25]In Spring 2020, the LEC reached anaverage minute audienceof over 220,000.[26]with the Spring Finals peaking at over 817,000 consecutive viewers.[27][better source needed]However, Riot Games CEO Brandon Beck stated in 2012 that there were no immediate plans to try to bring the LCS to traditional TV, but news coverage of the regular season isn't generally limited to dedicated electronic sports news sites, such as CBS Interactive'sonGamers.[28]

The scale and popularity of the LEC itself, however, has attracted considerable media attention,[29]particularly around some events that legitimised the LEC as a serious competition.

Results

[edit]

By season

[edit]
Year Split Champion Runner-up Third Fourth Qualified forWorlds
Seed 1 Seed 2 Seed 3 Seed 4
EU LCS
2013 Spring Fnatic Gambit Gaming Evil Geniuses SK Gaming Fnatic Lemondogs Gambit Gaming —
Summer Fnatic Lemondogs Gambit Gaming Evil Geniuses
2014 Spring Fnatic SK Gaming Team ROCCAT Alliance Alliance Fnatic SK Gaming
Summer Alliance Fnatic SK Gaming Team ROCCAT
2015 Spring Fnatic Unicorns of Love H2k-Gaming SK Gaming Fnatic H2k-Gaming Origen
Summer Fnatic Origen H2k-Gaming Unicorns of Love
2016 Spring G2 Esports Origen Fnatic H2k-Gaming G2 Esports H2k-Gaming Splyce
Summer G2 Esports Splyce H2k-Gaming Unicorns of Love
2017 Spring G2 Esports Unicorns of Love Fnatic Misfits Gaming G2 Esports Misfits Gaming Fnatic
Summer G2 Esports Misfits Gaming Fnatic H2k-Gaming
2018 Spring Fnatic G2 Esports Splyce Team Vitality Fnatic Team Vitality G2 Esports
Summer Fnatic Schalke 04 Esports Team Vitality Misfits Gaming
LEC
2019 Spring G2 Esports Origen Fnatic Splyce G2 Esports Fnatic Splyce —
Summer G2 Esports Fnatic Schalke 04 Esports Rogue
2020 Spring G2 Esports Fnatic MAD Lions Origen G2 Esports Fnatic Rogue MAD Lions
Summer G2 Esports Fnatic Rogue MAD Lions
2021 Spring MAD Lions Rogue G2 Esports Schalke 04 Esports MAD Lions Fnatic Rogue —
Summer MAD Lions Fnatic Rogue G2 Esports
2022 Spring G2 Esports Rogue Fnatic Misfits Gaming Rogue G2 Esports Fnatic MAD Lions
Summer Rogue G2 Esports Fnatic MAD Lions
2023 Winter G2 Esports MAD Lions KOI SK Gaming G2 Esports Fnatic MAD Lions Team BDS
Spring MAD Lions Team BDS Team Vitality G2 Esports
Summer G2 Esports Excel Esports Fnatic Team Heretics
Season Finals G2 Esports Fnatic MAD Lions Team BDS
2024 Winter G2 Esports MAD Lions KOI Team BDS Fnatic G2 Esports Fnatic MAD Lions KOI —
Spring G2 Esports Fnatic Team BDS Team Vitality
Summer G2 Esports Fnatic Team BDS Karmine Corp
Season Finals G2 Esports Fnatic MAD Lions KOI Team BDS

By team

[edit]

Teams initalicsindicate teams that have been disbanded or no longer participates in the league.

Team Title(s) Runners-up Seasons won Seasons runner-up
G2 Esports 16 2 2016Spring, 2016Summer, 2017Spring, 2017Summer, 2019Spring, 2019Summer, 2020Spring, 2020Summer, 2022Spring, 2023Winter, 2023Summer, 2023Season Finals, 2024Winter, 2024Spring, 2024Summer, 2024Season Finals 2018Spring, 2022Summer
Fnatic 7 9 2013Spring, 2013Summer, 2014Spring, 2015Spring, 2015Summer, 2018Spring, 2018Summer 2014Summer, 2019Summer, 2020Spring, 2020Summer, 2021Summer, 2023Season Finals, 2024Spring, 2024Summer, 2024Season Finals
MAD Lions KOI[c] 3 3 2021Spring, 2021Summer, 2023Spring 2016Summer,[g]2023Winter, 2024Winter
Rogue[d] 1 2 2022Summer 2021Spring, 2022Spring
Alliance[h] 1 0 2014Summer
Origen[i] 0 3 2015Summer, 2016Spring, 2019Spring
Unicorns of Love 0 2 2015Spring, 2017Spring
Gambit Gaming 0 1 2013Spring
Lemondogs 0 1 2013Summer
SK Gaming 0 1 2014Spring
Misfits Gaming 0 1 2017Summer
Schalke 04 Esports 0 1 2018Summer
Team BDS 0 1 2023Spring
GIANTX[a] 0 1 2023Summer

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^abTeam had competed asExcel Esportsbefore. On 14 December 2023, Excel Esports andGiants Gamingannounced merger, formingGIANTX.[20]Giants Gaming had been competing in EU LCS from 2013 to 2018.
  2. ^Karmine Corp acquired their LEC spot fromAstralisin October 2023.
  3. ^abFrom the 2016 Spring Split until the 2019 Summer Split, MAD Lions was known asSplyce.The team was rebranded in November 2019 whenOverActive Media,the owner of the two brands, dissolved the Splyce brand to merge all of their esports ventures into MAD Lions.[21]From 2024, MAD Lions takes a partnership with KOI after KOI has split with Rogue. Team is competing asMAD Lions KOI.
  4. ^abOn October 6, 2022, Rogue announced a merger with KOI. This will result in the existing Rogue teams rebranding to KOI. Following Infinite Reality's split with KOI in 2023, the team was reestablished.
  5. ^Team BDS acquired their LEC spot fromSchalke 04 Esportsin June 2021.[22]
  6. ^Team Heretics acquired their LEC spot fromMisfits Gamingin July 2022.[23]
  7. ^AsSplyce.
  8. ^On 8 January 2015 was rebranded asElements.[30]The team competed under that name until 16 May 2016, when it was dissolved and sold their LCS seed and roster toSchalke 04 Esports.[31]
  9. ^On 15 September 2020, Origen merged withAstralis.[32]The team competing under that name from 2021 to 2023.

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Riot Games Esports Media Center -" Riot Games reveals plans for new home of EMEA esports in Berlin "".esports.riotgamesmedia.Retrieved26 December2023.
  2. ^Kwilinski, Darin."LCS retains viewers during the Super Bowl".onGamers.CBS Interactive.Archived fromthe originalon 9 August 2014.Retrieved21 July2014.
  3. ^Auxent, Adrien (30 September 2016)."Esports are now officially legal in France".The Esports Observer.Retrieved18 June2017.
  4. ^Auxent, Adrien (28 April 2016)."All you need to know about France's new esports federation," France eSports "".The Esports Observer.Retrieved18 June2017.
  5. ^"Spain government creates a federation of video games and esports".The Esports Observer.8 November 2016.Retrieved20 October2019.
  6. ^Ring, Oliver (10 November 2016)."Spanish Federation of Video Games and Esports set to be created".Esports Insider.Retrieved20 October2019.
  7. ^"Kia enters e-sports arena as League of Legends European Championship sponsor"(Press release).
  8. ^"Red Bull sponsors League of Legends European Championship".ONE Esports.
  9. ^"Erste Bank Group Joins as a Summer Finals Main Partner of the LEC".17 July 2020.
  10. ^Carpenter, Nicole (29 July 2020)."Riot Games ends Saudi Arabia's Neom partnership following controversy".Polygon.Retrieved18 October2020.
  11. ^Segal, David (10 October 2014)."Attraction in League of Legends".The New York Times.Retrieved10 December2015.
  12. ^"Riot Games Shares its Vision for the Future of Esports, Reveals Initial Details of League of Legends Championship Series"(PDF).Riot Games. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 24 September 2015.Retrieved21 July2014.
  13. ^Sarkar, Samit."How the new League of Legends Challenger league will create a pathway to the pros".Polygon.Vox Media.Archived fromthe originalon 26 December 2014.Retrieved5 March2015.
  14. ^Deesing, Jonathan (19 November 2014)."Expansion Tournament Adds Two Teams to LCS".Red Bull GmbH.Retrieved20 November2015.
  15. ^Deesing, Jonathan (14 January 2015)."Riot Adds Points System to LCS, Modifies Schedule".Red Bull GmbH.Retrieved20 November2015.
  16. ^"The 2017 EU Summer Finals are heading to Paris".LoL Esports.Retrieved31 January2020.
  17. ^"Take a closer look at the LEC".LoL Esports.Retrieved21 November2018.
  18. ^"Riot to Rebrand EU LCS As It Welcomes New Partner Teams".The Esports Observer.Retrieved25 February2021.
  19. ^"LEC ends NEOM partnership following staff outrage".ESPN.Retrieved25 February2021.
  20. ^"A New Era: EXCEL ESPORTS and Giants Gaming announce merger, forming GIANTX".A NEW CHAPTER BEGINS.14 December 2023.
  21. ^"Splyce officially rebrand LEC team to MAD Lions, announce 2020 starters".Dexerto.29 November 2019.Retrieved14 February2023.
  22. ^"Royal Blues to earn €26.5 million from sale of LEC slot".FC Schalke 04.29 June 2021.Retrieved14 February2023.
  23. ^"Misfits Gaming Group Announces Sale of LEC Slot to Team Heretics".Misfits Gaming.27 July 2022.Retrieved14 February2023.
  24. ^Kwilinski, Darin."LCS retains viewers during the Super Bowl".onGamers.CBS Interactive.Archived fromthe originalon 9 August 2014.Retrieved21 July2014.
  25. ^Dave, Paresh."Online game League of Legends star gets U.S. visa as pro athlete".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved21 July2014.
  26. ^"Esports Charts – Spring 2020 Viewership".Esports Charts.Retrieved20 May2020.
  27. ^"Esports Charts – Spring Finals Viewership".Esports Charts.Retrieved20 May2020.
  28. ^Rom, Kim (7 November 2013)."Welcome to the onGamers beta".onGamers. Archived fromthe originalon 3 December 2013.Retrieved27 November2013.
  29. ^Snider, Mike."'League of Legends' makes big league moves ".USA Today.Retrieved20 November2015.
  30. ^"By their powers combined, Alliance is now Elements".dotesports.8 January 2015.
  31. ^"FC Schalke 04 Acquire League of Legends Team Elements".gfinityesports.16 May 2016.
  32. ^"Astralis Group to merge all activities and teams into the Astralis brand".astralis.gg.19 January 2021.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=League_of_Legends_EMEA_Championship&oldid=1248964623"