A plethora of news regarding the application process held by Riot Games for the newly-franchised European League of Legends Championship Series (EU LCS) has been released as of late.
With the league undergoing a massive remodeling, plenty of teams are exiting Europe’s premier League of Legends competition – making way for both new investors and new organisations to get involved. Let’s see the current standings of the ten teams from the 2019 season and look forward to what could be coming next.
Here’s the list of teams that competed in the EU LCS during the 2018 season and their confirmed status:
- FC Schalke 04 – Joining franchised league
- Fnatic – Joining franchised league
- G2 Esports – Joining franchised league
- Team Vitality – Joining franchised league
- Misfits Gaming – Joining franchised league
- Splyce – Joining franchised league
- Giants Gaming – Application declined
- H2K Gaming – Application declined
- Unicorns of Love – Application declined
- Team ROCCAT – Not participating
With FC Schalke 04, Fnatic, G2 Esports, Misfits Gaming, Splyce, and Team Vitality all joining the EU LCS – which is now the LEC – as franchise partners in the upcoming season, that means four brand new teams will be joining the competition.
Fnatic and G2 Esports have easily been the most impressive teams over the most recent years of the EU LCS. Fnatic won both the 2018 Spring and Summer Splits, whereas G2 Esports won the Spring and Summer Splits in 2016 and 2017. It’s no surprise to see these organisations become long-term partners of the league.
Which outside entities have been confirmed for the LEC, and which teams were rumoured or reported to have applied for 2019 and onwards? Let’s take a look:
- exceL- Confirmed to join the league
- Origen – Confirmed to join the league
- Rogue – Confirmed to join the league
- SK Gaming – Confirmed to join the league
- Astralis – Reported to join, Origen joined instead
- Movistar Riders – Reported to join, later revealed that talks fell through
- North – Reported to join, later revealed that talks fell through
- Arsenal F.C. – Reportedly applied
- Crystal Palace F.C. – Reportedly applied
- Swansea City A.F.C. – Reportedly applied
- MAD Lions E.C. – Reportedly applied
- Paris Saint-Germain – Partnered with H2K Gaming, application declined
- Real Madrid – Couldn’t reach agreement with MAD Lions E.C.
A report from 5Mid in September states that seven football clubs have applied for the franchised league, but only three clubs have been made public thus far. A lot of outsiders were bound to want to get involved after seeing the success of the NA LCS, and only those with significant capital would be able to submit a compelling application – this does indeed lend itself to football teams tossing their hats into the ring.