League of Legends Championship of The Americas

League of Legends Championship of the Americas
Most recent season or competition:
2025 LTA season
GameLeague of Legends
FoundedOctober 31, 2024; 12 days ago (2024-10-31)
FounderRiot Games
First season2025
Owner(s)Riot Games
CommissionerMark Zimmerman[1]
No. of teams16 (13 franchised, 2 guests, 1 provisional guest[a])
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California
São Paulo, Brazil
ContinentAmericas
Relegation to
  • CBLOL Academy
  • Liga Regional Norte
  • Liga Regional Sud
  • North American Challengers League
  • Guest teams only
International cup(s)
Related
competitions		LEC, LCK, LPL, LCP

The League of Legends Championship of the Americas (LTA), also known as the League of The Americas, is the upcoming top level of professional League of Legends in the Americas, which includes the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. The esports league is run by Riot Games and has sixteen teams split into two conferences, North and South. Each annual season of competition is divided into three splits, with playoff competition between the top teams. At the end of each split, the best teams qualify for the three international tournaments – The winner of the first split qualifies for the First Stand Tournament, the winners of each conference in the second split qualify for the Mid Season Invitational, and the top three teams in the third split playoffs (known as the Americas Regional Championship) qualify for the annual League of Legends World Championship.

The league was initially announced in June 2024 as a merger between the then three regional leagues in the Americas – The League Championship Series (LCS), Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (CBLOL) and Liga Latinoamérica (LLA). The LCS would form the basis for the North Conference, while CBLOL formed the basis for the South Conference. These two leagues would have six partnered teams each join the LTA for its inaugural season, with the LLA providing two additional teams, one each for the North and South Conference. In addition, one extra team from the LLA (in the South Conference) and one team from North America's second-tier league, the North American Challengers League (in the North Conference), would be "guest teams" that have to requalify for the LTA at the end of each season in promotion and relegation playoffs with the best teams from the regional second-tier leagues.

With the exception of some touring events, all LTA games are played live in two venues, both known as the Riot Games Arena – one in Los Angeles, California for the North Conference and one in São Paulo, Brazil for the South Conference. In addition to a small studio audience, all games are streamed live on Twitch and YouTube.

History

[edit]

Pre-LTA

[edit]

North America

[edit]
Main article: League Championship Series (esports)

Prior to the formation of the then-North American League of Legends Championship Series (NA LCS), League of Legends had a growing competitive scene, but a professional league was not a central component of Riot Games' initial business strategy. However, in 2011, professional organized league play became a prominent point of emphasis for Riot after the company hosted its inaugural championship tournament at DreamHack in Sweden.[2]

On August 6, 2012, Riot Games announced the formation of the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), a professional gaming league initially designed to provide support to teams from Europe, Asia, and the United States.[3] The inaugural season of the LCS commenced on February 7, 2013, coinciding with the third season of professional play in League of Legends; as such, it was designated as "Season 3". The LCS was split into two regional leagues: the European League of Legends Championship Series (EU LCS, now the LEC) and the North American League of Legends Championship Series. Initially, eight teams competed in each league, with the best teams qualifying for the League of Legends World Championship;[4][5] this was later expanded to ten teams via expansion tournaments prior to the 2015 season.[6] At the end of 2013, Riot announced the League of Legends Challenger Series (CS), which allowed teams to be able to participate in the LCS via a promotion and relegation system.[7]

In June 2017, Riot Games announced that the NA LCS would shift to a franchised league with ten permanent teams beginning in 2018.[8] Each team paid $10 million (for existing League of Legends teams who were in the NA LCS or CS) or $13 million (for new teams).[9][10] The NA LCS re-branded its name to simply the LCS in December 2018,[11] and then to just the League Championship Series before the 2021 season.[12]

Brazil

[edit]
Main article: Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends

Professional League competition began in 2012 in the form of a three-day competition known as the Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (lit. Brazilian Championship of League of Legends), with the winner qualifying for the World Championship's International Wild Card Tournament (and later the standard Worlds play-in stage) after the 2013 season. In 2014, the league expanded to two splits, with the second split being a regional final. In 2015, CBLOL adopted a standard two-split format and a second-tier tournament known as the Circuit Desafiante (lit. Challenging Circuit) that promotes teams to CBLOL.[13][14] In 2020, Riot Games Brasil announced that the league would expand to ten teams from its original eight and adopt a franchise format like the LCS in North America for 2021.[15]

Latin America

[edit]
Main article: Liga Latinoamérica

Latin American League of Legends competition began in 2015, however it was divided into two distinct zones at first. Northern Latin America (comprising of Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela had the Copa Latinoamérica Norte (CLN, later renamed Liga Latinoamérica Norte) and Southern Latin America (comprising of Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) had the Copa Latinoamérica Sud (CLS). Both separate leagues would each send teams to international competition beginning in 2016.

In May 2018, Riot announced plans to merge both the LLN and CLS into a single league, known as the Liga Latinoamérica (LLA), starting in 2019.[16] Unlike the LCS and later CBLOL, the LLA would continue to utilize a promotion and relegation format. All eight teams were awarded "performance points" after each split, with the worst two teams after the Closing split on points having to requalify for the LLA against the best teams in the tier-two Liga Regional Norte and Liga Regional Sud.

Beginnings

[edit]

On June 11, 2024, Riot Games announced in a blog post titled "LoL Esports: Building Towards A Brighter Future" that the LCS, CBLOL and LLA would plan to merge into a Pan-American league that would begin play in 2025.[17][18]

Under this new model, six teams each from the LCS and CBLOL would become partners in the league and form their own separate conferences – North and South – along with one LLA team and one "guest team" (which would be determined by a promotion and relegation tournament after each season) each. Under the new three-split model, the best teams from each conference would compete against each other to determine a champion for the wider Americas region.

The league was officially formed on October 31, 2024, as the League of Legends Championship of the Americas, with the inaugural 16 teams in the league announced that same day.[19] 100 Thieves, initially planned to be a regular partnered team, also announced on October 31 that they sold their slot back to Riot Games. As such, they would be a "provisional guest team", which means they'll not be eligible for relegation but may leave competitive League at the end of the 2025 split.[20]

Format

[edit]

Each year of the LTA is divided into three splits. Each split qualifies teams to the three international competitions within League of Legends – First Stand, the Mid Season Invitational and League of Legends World Championship.

The first split sees each conference hold an eight-team double-elimination bracket with best-of-three series. The top 4 teams per conference (the winners of the two upper bracket semi-finals and the two lower bracket semi-finals respectively) advance to an eight-team single-elimination bracket, like the one at the World Championship. The winner of the split qualifies for First Stand. All series during this split utilize Fearless Draft, where picked Champions cannot be played again for the remainder of the series. For odd-numbered years, the knockout stage is held in São Paulo, while it is held in Los Angeles during even-numbered years.

The second split has the eight teams in each conference compete against their conference opponents in a double round-robin group stage, with all games being best-of-one. The top 6 teams per conference compete in a double-elimination best-of-five bracket, with the top two teams earning a bye to the winner's semi-finals. The winner of each conference qualifies for the Mid-Season Invitational; no overall Split 2 champion is crowned.

The third split utilizes a unique format called "Pick & Play" for its first stage. The first week sees each team face each other based on the second split results, but after the first and second weeks the lowest-ranked teams pick their opponents. After the third week, a double elimination bracket is formed, with the top 4 teams seeded into the winner's bracket and the bottom 4 seeded into the loser's bracket. This bracket sees the best ranked teams pick their opponents for each of the two rounds. After those two rounds, the remaining team in the winner's bracket plays in the "Worlds Qualifying Series" for the upper-bracket spot in the Americas Regional Championship against the best remaining team based on record, with the two remaining sides competing for the final spot for their conference. All games in "Pick & Play" are best-of-threes, with the exception of the final week, which consists of best-of-fives.

The Americas Regional Championship, as the third split playoffs are known, sees the three remaining teams from each of the two conferences compete in a double elimination bracket consisting entirely of best-of-fives. The winners of the "Worlds Qualifying Series" matches for each conference start in the upper bracket, with the remaining teams starting in the lower bracket; as the two teams in the upper bracket can't finish no worse than third place, they qualify automatically for the World Championship. The winner of the grand final officially becomes the LTA champion, with the top three teams (top four if the LTA earns an additional spot via MSI) qualifying for the World Championship. For odd-numbered years, the Regional Championship is hosted by the North Conference, with the first rounds held in Los Angeles and the final two rounds held as a roadshow, while the South Conference hosts in even-numbered years with São Paulo hosting the opening rounds.

Promotion Tournament

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The two guest teams (one per conference), regardless of their performance during the LTA season, have to requalify for the league at the end of the year against teams who qualified from the second-tier leagues from each conference. For the North Conference, their guest team competes against the best teams in the North American Challengers League and Liga Regional Norte, while the South Conference's guest team competes against the best from CBLOL Academy and Liga Regional Sud. The second-tier league winners and defending guest team qualify for a double-elimination, best-of-five bracket; the runners-up of each tier two conference compete in a play-in match to face their conference's LTA guest team in the first round. The winners of the grand final in each conference's promotion tournament qualify for the LTA as the guest teams for next season.

Teams

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Italics denotes a guest team, which has to promote back into the LTA at the end of each season.

North Conference

[edit]
Teams First appearance
in the LTA 		Roster Coach
Top Jungle Mid Bot Support
100 Thieves[a] 2025
Cloud9 2025
Dignitas 2025
Disguised 2025
FlyQuest 2025
Lyon Gaming[b] 2025
Shopify Rebellion 2025
Team Liquid 2025

South Conference

[edit]
Teams First appearance
in the LTA 		Roster Coach
Top Jungle Mid Bot Support
Fluxo 2025
FURIA 2025 Tutsz Ayu JoJo
Isurus Estral[c] 2025
Keyd Stars[d] 2025
Leviatán 2025
LOUD 2025
PaiN Gaming 2025
RED Canids[e] 2025

Seasons

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Year Split 1 Champion Split 2 North Champion Split 2 South Champion Americas Regional Champion No.
2025 16

Media coverage

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The LTA primarily connects with its audience through online streaming via dedicated channels on platforms such as Twitch and YouTube. Games are primarily broadcast in English, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese for each respective audience (North America, Hispanic Latin America and Brazil).

Notes

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  1. ^ a b 100 Thieves is a "provisional guest team", as their franchise slot was sold back to Riot Games. For 2025, they will participate like a franchised team in the LTA, meaning they can't be relegated.
  2. ^ Formed as a merger between Rainbow7 and Six Karma.
  3. ^ Formed as a merger between Isurus and Estral Esports.
  4. ^ Known as Vivo Keyd Stars for sponsorship reasons.
  5. ^ Known as RED Canids Kalunga for sponsorship reasons.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Geracie, Nick (December 12, 2023). "LCS Names MarkZ New Commissioner". Esports Illustrated. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  2. ^ Segal, David (October 10, 2014). "Attraction in League Of Legends". The New York Times. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  3. ^ Peel, Jeremy (August 6, 2012). "Riot reveal pro-league League of Legends Championship Series, aim to make LoL a "sustainable career choice" for professionals". PCGamesN. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  4. ^ Sheridan, Connor (August 7, 2012). "League of Legends Championship Series begins in 2013". GameSpot. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  5. ^ Lien, Tracey (January 9, 2013). "League of Legends Championship Series season 3 will run from Feb–Aug, 2013". Polygon. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  6. ^ Deesing, Jonathan (November 19, 2014). "Expansion Tournament Adds Two Teams to LCS". Red Bull GmbH. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  7. ^ Sarkar, Samit (October 3, 2013). "How the new League of Legends Challenger league will create a pathway to the pros". Polygon. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  8. ^ Webster, Andrew (November 20, 2017). "With new permanent teams, professional League of Legends will look more like the NBA". The Verge. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  9. ^ Wolf, Jacob (September 1, 2017). "Overwatch League, North American LCS head in different directions". ESPN. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  10. ^ Khan, Imad (June 1, 2017). "Riot releases details on NA LCS franchising with $10M flat-fee buy-in". ESPN. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  11. ^ Goslin, Austen (December 13, 2018). "The NA LCS is changing its name and returning on Jan. 26 2019". The Rift Herald. Polygon. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  12. ^ Appleford, Danny (January 5, 2021). "LCS rebrands ahead of the 2021 season". Upcomer. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  13. ^ Set, Ricardo. "CBLoL 2015 é anunciado com formato semelhante à LCS". CNB e-Sports Club | Gaming is our sport. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  14. ^ "CBLoL e Desafiante na Temporada 2015 | League of Legends". br.leagueoflegends.com. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  15. ^ "Riot Brasil confirms CBLoL will move to franchising". ESPN. January 22, 2020.
  16. ^ Fitch, Adam (June 1, 2018). "Riot Games to consolidate competitions into singular Latin American league". Esports Insider. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  17. ^ Wilson, Jason (June 11, 2024). "Riot Games rolls out consolidation plan, new spring event for League of Legends esports". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  18. ^ Taifalos, Nicholas; McIntyre, Isaac (June 11, 2024). "LCS, CBLOL, LLA unified as Riot takes VALORANT-like approach to LoL esports". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  19. ^ Fudge, James (October 31, 2024). "Teams, Format for League of Legends Championship of The Americas Revealed". The Esports Advocate. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  20. ^ Ciocchetti, Cecilia (October 31, 2024). "100 Thieves sells League franchise slot while Disguised takes the stage for LTA 2025". Dot Esports. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
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