The final four teams that will join the EU LCS next year, as franchising is introduced into the competition, have reportedly been finalised.
In a report from ESPN Esports, it has been claimed that Movistar Riders, North, Rogue, and SK Gaming have all been accepted by Riot Games as franchising partners for the premier European League of Legends competition.
The report made it clear that while the 10 known teams have had their applications approved, their official entries into the competition are pending. This is allegedly due to “setbacks” in negotiations surrounding team participation agreements. In turn, this means the developer and tournament organiser could choose alternative teams to join the franchise if negotiations do indeed fall through.
Per recent reports on Riot Games’ search for permanent partners for the EU LCS, it has been stated that Giants Gaming, H2K Gaming, Splyce, Unicorns of Love, and Team ROCCAT are all exiting the competition.
This leaves FC Schalke 04, Fnatic, G2 Esports, Team Vitality, and Misfits Gaming as the teams that will remain in the competition. It was reported at the beginning of October that RFRSH Entertainment’s organisation Astralis had been accepted as a partner.
For a full breakdown of which teams are in and out of the EU LCS – as well as those who may have tried to get involved – visit our comprehensive article here.
In June, we wrote about SK Gaming’s new-found partnership with telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom, which including financial support with hopes of being approved for the EU LCS. ReKTGlobal, the parent company of Rogue, is said to have been searching for more investment prior to their application’s approval. North is owned by football team F.C. Copenhagen, whereas Spanish telecommunications company Movistar – which is owned by Telefónica – is in charge of Movistar Riders.
Esports Insider says: There are definitely some unexpected names in here, and it’s a shame that the decision process behind some of the approvals and declines of applications will never see the light of day. With this revelation – should it turn out to be accurate – comes expectancy for news surrounding brand new investors for some of these new partners; could we see more non-endemic companies getting involved with a premier esports competition? It’s not too unlikely at this point.