Riot Games has partnered with media and technology company Webedia to launch the Ligue Française de League of Legends (LFL).
The French competition will be co-produced by the two aforementioned parties and then broadcast on the French network O’Gaming.
Damien Ricci, Head of Esports at Riot Games France discussed the competition: “This new format seemed essential to us because it will allow the teams to compete more frequently and therefore to our community to be able to follow the competition on a regular basis. The LFL is getting closer to the format of our international competitions and will be an opportunity to share additional content with our fans as part of a premium league.”
The LFL aims to develop the competitive League of Legends scene in France by acting as a professional circuit for the title, improving upon the Open Tour that was ran in 2018. Open to eight selected teams, applications will be closed on December 14th ahead of its launch in January 2019. The Open Tour will now be treated as an online-only competition for amateur players.
Sasha Brodowski, Head of Esports of Webedia also commented: “We are proud to be able to create with Riot Games the French League of Legends Professional League. It will contribute to the structuring of the esport in France, and will allow the fans to vibrate throughout the year by following the course of the teams in the competition. The know-how of Webedia and O’Gaming will be used to ensure the success of the league in terms of influence and quality of the content produced.”
This week, Riot Games announced a major change to one of its biggest regional competitions. As the EU LCS implements a franchising system with 10 long-term partners, it has been rebranded as the League of Legends European Championship (LEC).
Esports Insider says: It’s good to see yet another region provided with a better competitive structure for League of Legends. The Open Tour was a good idea, but a professional circuit will undoubtedly be better for the teams involved if executed properly.