Riot Games has confirmed rumors of the North American League of Legends league downsizing from 10 to eight teams in 2024.
Golden Guardians and Evil Geniuses are set to exit the LCS, Riot announced today, leaving their former players free to explore their options during the current offseason and possibly leading to many employees looking for their next venture in the esports industry.
Just shortly after capturing record-breaking viewership in the finals of the 2023 World Championship this weekend, the League ecosystem is taking a hit as one of its major regions sees its participants cut down. The 2024 season for the LCS will start without Golden Guardians or EG and without any other organizations taking their place. According to Riot’s president of esports, John Needham, both organizations had been given the opportunity to terminate their “team participating agreements” (TPA) and settle with Riot, and it was just recently that the transactions were finalized.
The two teams had different reasons to discontinue their arrangements, which now leaves Riot to weigh its options for the future of the North American league. Golden Guardians’ parent company, the Golden State Warriors, has decided to focus its resources on a more traditional sports venture: basketball. Meanwhile, EG’s public financial struggles this past year have created the need for the organization to halt its participation in the LCS.
The teams’ departures raise many questions, from whether the LCS format will undergo changes to whether there are other organizations ready to step up and claim a spot in North American League’s franchised league. But while Riot discusses its next move, which according to Needham should be disclosed early next year, the teams’ players and staff are left to look for new homes before the season begins.
Riot has been “rushing” to finalize the settlements with these organizations to allow the players to possibly be picked up by other teams before the 2024 season begins, but the staff behind the scenes are left to fend for themselves. “They are employees of different organizations,” Needham said. “There’s no way for us to really intercede and do anything for those people, sadly.”
As all parties involved learn how to navigate this situation and try to figure out what steps can be taken to ensure a smooth transition, LCS fans will have to grow accustomed to the idea of having their home region start the 2024 season smaller than how they left it last summer.
