In 2025, the Western League of Legends scene will be changed forever when the LCS merges with the CBLOL and LLA to create the Americas League. Riot Games will also implement new rules to the competition, including the introduction of three splits per year, and the long-awaited Fearless Draft.
Having started with the three-split format in Europe’s LEC, the Americas League will also play out over three different splits next season. The league will feature North and South Conferences that will operate with the same format and schedules, but will host games in their own headquarters.The North Conference will play in the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles, while the South Conference will play at the CBLOL Arena in São Paulo, Brazil.
Both conferences will also collide twice a year at LAN events to play for seeds at global events such as the Mid-Season Invitational and World Championship.
The first split will feature a Fearless Draft-based tournament to introduce fans to the newly-formed region, which will finally administer one special rule to the pick-ban phase: Once a team has picked a champion, that team can no longer pick the same champion for the rest of the series. Afterward, top teams from each conference will meet in the first-ever cross-conference competition to decide the champion of Split One.
The Fearless Draft system was originally used in the LDL in China before making its way stateside for the North American Challengers League. Overall, this new system allows for much more variance and flexibility when it comes to the professional meta, since teams must plan out multiple different team compositions and pocket picks instead of sticking to the same two or three meta comps.
The second split, on the other hand, will switch back to a regular format, causing teams to lock in on the strategies that helped them thrive, while fans “deepen their connections with players and teams as they follow their journey” towards MSI 2025. Split Two will end with the top teams from the North and South Conferences gaining one slot at the tournament each.
Finally, the third and final split will feature a highly aggressive format with best-of series being played every week. To finish off their year before Worlds, top teams from both conferences will play in a final LAN event to battle for three slots at Worlds 2025.
Each conference will have a representative at the tournament, but the third slot will be available for teams from either the North and South, making it a frantic battle between the best of the rest in the Americas. The Americas League season will finish up with a massive Regional Championship roadshow held in a different location across the region every year.
Published: Sep 18, 2024 04:35 pm