Riot Games is changing the LCS and adding a $10 million buy-in fee

Some major changes for the North American League Championship Series (LCS) have been announced today. This new structure will have 10 League of Legends teams who are always in the mix. This will be replacing the previous system where squads were rotated in and out of the competition.

Riot Games has posted an update on their NA website to explain these changes in detail. However, the most controversial change seems to be the addition of a $10 million buy-in price for teams to take part in the competition. Teams will need to pay half the money upfront and the rest will be paid at a later time.

The company states that their goal is to create a “strong and stable system” which is “profitable for pro players and provides entertainment for fans”. In addition to the new buy-in fee, all players will be guaranteed a salary of at least $75,000. Once a team has paid the fee they will be in the league for good. However, Riot Games states that they will offer incentives to teams that play well. They have also thought about how to penalise teams that purposefully stay at the bottom of the ladder.

Riot Games also said that there are three main thoughts behind this new change.

1. Changing the structure of the league to encourage long-term investments
2. Sharing league revenues to provide a better foundation for teams and pros
3. Giving pros a larger voice and better protections

A new Players’ Association will be coming in the future however, it has not been detailed yet. Riot Games will be providing more details this August.

Applications for this new LCS opened today and will be closing on July 14th. The final roster of teams will be announced this November ahead of the tournament.

We’ll provide you with updates once we learn more about the situation.