League of Legends fans hoping that the LCS would satiate the need for fantasy leagues at the end of the football season may be out of luck.
Riot Games commissioner of the LCS, Chris Greeley, tweeted out the bad news today, explaining that there will be no Riot-endorsed fantasy leagues for the 2020 Spring Split. Riot will instead offer a structure for third-party companies to create fantasy products.
Fantasy LCS was wildly popular. It gave fans the opportunity to draft pros and create the ultimate competitive team to take out opponents. Participants gained points each week based on the collective kills, assists, and creep score their team put up.
The lack of a fantasy program for the Spring Split is surely a huge upset to fans who expected its return. Greeley previously explained that Riot didn’t “commit meaningful resources” to improve the fantasy platform, which led to a subpar fan experience. And the commissioner later announced that Riot would have “something in place” for the 2020 Spring Split.
But it seems like “something” permeated into “nothing.”
Greeley detailed some alternatives, however. Esports One provides a fantasy platform with a comprehensive database and big prize pools. And Thrive Fantasy allows for pick’em style selections based on player stats, like more than five kills or less than three deaths.
Though third-party programs might not be what LCS fans expected for the Spring Split, it may satisfy their fantasy desires for the time being.