It looks as if Vodafone Giants has put in an application for a spot in the future franchised European League of Legends Championship Series.
Giants Gaming has been a member of the EU LCS since 2013 and recently acquired a title sponsor from Vodafone just last April.
We love League of Legends and its community, the game is part of our DNA, that's why we have applied for Riot Games' EULCS long term partnership.
We'd like to start a new chapter in our history books together with you, our fans. #WeAreGiants pic.twitter.com/Z1QQeFJbZT
— Vodafone Giants (@GiantsGamingENG) July 2, 2018
This past March Riot announced it would be taking the franchise model used in North American League of Legends and applying to the European LCS beginning in 2019. The franchised league will include revenue sharing, increased player salaries and will scrap relegation. Teams that are accepted into the inaugural franchised EU LCS will commit to a three-year membership, only to be removed if they have poor performance or disciplinary issues.
While Vodafone Giants is already competing in the EU LCS this doesn’t guarantee the organisation a spot in the new franchised league. The application process begins with organisations sending finances and plans to the league after which Riot will require in-person application reviews until September. At that point, Riot will choose and announce teams for the EU LCS between October and December. Buy-in prices for tenured members of the league begin at around $8m (£7m).
Giants earned ninth place during this years spring split and is, so far, 1-5 in the EU LCS Summer Split sitting at ninth place again just ahead of H2K.
Esports Insider says: As more leagues are considering a franchise model, organisations are hungry for a spot in the new franchised League of Legends Championship series. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise as Vodafone recently entered the LCS and this was most likely on the companies radar when acquiring the Giants organisation. More entry into the league means it’s a heavily desired league which can then only mean good things for esports and the future of the League of Legends LCS.