According to the EU LCS, the league is rebranding for the next year, along with franchising! The new name for the league will be the League of Legends European Championship or LEC.
Welcome to a new era.
Welcome to the #LEC. pic.twitter.com/OA6BAjZ8Wr
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) November 20, 2018
The LEC is here, and with it comes new branding, new logos, and new teams! In a press release, the company would explain their reasoning behind the brand change, saying, “We wanted a name – and design – that better captured our unique brand, as well as our attitude. We want people to feel like they belong, and be proud to be different. We’re the exception to what’s expected of us, which is why we decided to set aside our old name for something original.” Also, the LEC may be changing the format of the league as well, but announcements on that will be coming in the later months.
New League, New Teams!
With the introduction of a new league, there are still some recognizable faces that made it through franchising. For example, from the old EU LCS comes Fnatic, Schalke 04, G2 Esports, Misfits, Splyce and Team Vitality. However, there are four organizations that will be making their start in the new year. Welcome Excel Esports and Rogue to the LEC, and welcome back SK Gaming and Origen!
Excel and Rogue are both newcomers to the professional League of Legends scene. Excel is a UK-based esports organization with teams in FIFA, Hearthstone, Rocket League and now, League. They have not made any roster announcements yet, although they still have Christian “Taxer” Vendelbo and Alexander “Venzer” Kostadinov on the team. Meanwhile, Rogue is an American esports organization that has excelled in multiple games, such as Counter-Strike and Rainbow Six: Siege. Like Excel, the team has not made any roster announcements, but we are sure that they will make a splash.
Last Minute Changes?
A few of the teams in the LEC may have been put in a bit of a pickle during the application process for franchising. According to ESPN, negotiations for a franchise spot would fall through for two potential teams at the last minute. Originally, Spanish esports giant, Movistar Riders was supposed to join the LEC. Additionally, Danish esports organization, North, was going to take another spot in the league.
Unfortunately, discussions would fall through and would force Riot Games to choose two different teams. They would end up picking Splyce and Excel Esports, whom they had first declined entry into the LEC. However, this would leave Splyce in a bit of a problem themselves. Due to being declined franchising, Splyce had already released their entire roster and coaching staff. The whole roster was already exploring their options and negotiating with other teams when the news would hit. Therefore, Splyce would have to scramble to acquire their entire roster back before other teams would pick them up.
It was a pretty messy situation, but the whole process of franchising was messy for Riot Games. In fact, Riot was supposed to announce the new branding of the EU LCS back on November 8th. However, due to multiple teams not agreeing to terms in the team participation agreements, they would have to postpone that announcement until today. Hopefully, the new branding can bring better luck for the new year!
What are your thoughts on the EU LCS rebranding to the LEC for 2019? Let us know what you think in the comments below! If you want more LEC coverage, check us out here!
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