EMEA Head of Esports - Alberto Guerrero: "Karmine Corp joining the LEC has been one of the best things that has happened this year"

After the epic final of the LEC 2024 Season Finals in Munich, Alberto Guerrero discusses Karmine Corp, Fan Associations, LEC Format, Roadshows, and Studio Capacity.

Riot Games EMEA Head of Esports, Alberto Guerrero, attending the Munich LEC Season Finals 2024.

"We weren’t fully prepared to handle everything that came with such a big fan base."

After the epic finale of the LEC 2024 Season Finals in Munich, Riot Games is now looking towards the future. The upcoming 2025 season and major global ecosystem changes are anticipated to be pivotal for the future of League of Legends esports. In a 15-minute exclusive interview with Sheep Esports, Alberto Guerrero, Head of Esports for all Riot titles in the EMEA region, addresses several key topics: the reduction in LEC roadshows, criticism of the current LEC format, collaboration with fan associations, the impact of Karmine Corp, and the capacity issues with the current Berlin Studio.

How did you choose Munich for the 2024 LEC Roadshow? What are your thoughts on the venue, and are you happy with the decision?

Alberto Guerrero: First of all, thank you for the interview and the interest in this event. Munich has been on our radar even before the pandemic. It feels like a long time ago, but the pandemic impacted us up until 2021 and even 2022. Conversations we had with cities at that time were delayed because we had to pause our plans. Munich was one of the cities we started talking to before the pandemic.

We’re very happy to finally have the finals here, not only because of the city's historical connection with sports but also due to our relationship with Germany. We started in Cologne, and we've been established in Berlin. Since 2017, if I’m not wrong, we haven’t had an LEC-level tournament in the country, outside of our regular season matches, so Munich was an amazing opportunity. I also need to mention the support from the city and local government, which has been incredible. They’ve really helped us put on the best possible show. So, thanks a lot to the city for that.

Fans are unhappy with having only one LEC roadshow per year, especially since the LEC is based in Germany year-round and this year’s roadshow is also there. Is there a chance the league could return to having more than one roadshow per year in the future?

Alberto Guerrero: Definitely not in the short term. This isn’t something you can change from one year to another. We’ve had some conversations about this because having one big roadshow has been helpful in a lot of ways. For newcomers to League of Legends, it can be confusing to have two splits and two winners every year. Recognizing one big winner a year is easier, which is a positive.

On the other hand, we do face challenges. There are so many great teams from different countries with passionate fanbases that we want to serve. It took years for us to visit France, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Poland, and other countries pushing for events. So, there are conversations happening, and we’re looking for alternatives for the future. We are aware of this issue.

However, it's even challenging to do what we are doing now, especially with the pandemic still having an impact. We’re lucky that concerts, musicians, and events are coming back, but that makes venues like this harder to secure. So, while it’s something we’re thinking about, it won’t happen in the short term.

The Final Day of the LEC Season Finals 2024 in Munich. Credit: Michał Konkol/Riot Games

The current LEC format has received mixed feedback; some fans feel it’s repetitive and uninteresting. How do you plan to address these criticisms? Is the LEC planning to stick with this format in the future?

Alberto Guerrero: First of all, as expected, the people who are unhappy tend to be louder, which is good because it gives us valuable feedback. We listen to the players, and our motto is to be the most player-focused company in the world, which includes esports. We’re aware of the appetite for more BO3s and BO5s. There are clear advantages to having more of those, whether it's for the teams, the competition, or the excitement of the show.

But we can't look at it in isolation. We share our studio with the VALORANT Champions Tour, we have a packed calendar, and we need a minimum number of matches between the same teams. When you factor all these in, there’s no perfect solution. It's hard to find the perfect recipe that solves all our issues. We're constantly trying to adapt and make changes to improve on this however.

For next year, we’re making small changes, such as adding more BO3s, which we’ll communicate more about soon. We're also in discussions with teams to figure out the global calendar, venue availability, and roadshow dates, which are hard to align. But we are listening. We know some fans want changes, and while there are many positives in the current format, those aren’t often celebrated as much as the criticisms.

To what extent is Riot happy with the current LEC format?

Alberto Guerrero: The LEC team is happy because we have different formats across regions. I think we are serving our audience well, but we also recognize the appetite for change. We’re discussing with the teams and looking for ways to move in that direction, as our ultimate goal is to serve the players.

The Blue Wall is one of the largest fan organizations in Europe. Credit: Antonin Hory

In addition to format issues, the LEC has faced criticism for mishandling fan associations, particularly with the KC Blue Wall boycott in May. Is the LEC taking steps to address and resolve these issues?

Alberto Guerrero: I would say that Karmine Corp joining the LEC has been one of the best things that has happened this year. There are no doubts about it. If you were in the studio in January, you’d have seen how they literally changed the LEC's entire vibe. Very quickly, other fandoms like GIANTX, G2, and Fnatic also reacted positively and interacted with them. All of it helped raise the intensity and emotional connection between our teams.

However, we weren’t fully prepared to handle everything that came with such a big fan base. The Blue Wall Association is huge and demanding, so we need to adapt to this business situation. There have been many conversations with Karmine Corp to help us manage this. It’s a different dynamic from what we’re used to, similar to traditional sports.

Our goal is to make sure all fans, including big groups like Karmine Corp's, are happy. This is part of Riot Games' mission. We hope to receive better feedback in 2025 with the adjustments we’re making and our commitment to connecting better with these large fan groups.

Alberto Guerrero: Not right now. We are in conversations with them and definitely listening. We’re opening channels to get better feedback, explaining why we do things the way we do, and why we might want to approach things differently. The LEC is a big operation, and sometimes it's challenging to meet everyone's needs. However, we believe that increased communication will help, and we're working on improving that.

Despite having recently been refurbished, people have still complained about the current size of the Riot Games Arena in Berlin. Has there been consideration to expand the studio further or move to a larger one?

Let me share some insights. When we wanted to renew the studio, we first looked for another location. Berlin has many studios, but none were available. So, we decided to refurbish our existing studio. When doing this, we had to make trade-offs—whether to prioritize more seats or better facilities for the production team and team preparation.

The Riot Games Arena in Berlin. Credit: Riot Games

We know the current setup doesn’t accommodate all the fans we could reach during major events like Worlds. However, we need to consider the hundreds of thousands of players watching online. Balancing between in-studio experience and online impact is key. Of course, for events like Worlds, we can easily attract thousands of fans, but for regular LEC events, it’s different. We have to think about sustainability and long-term use. Larger stadiums often face issues when content is insufficient to fill them regularly.

In balancing these needs, we prioritize the online fan experience and aim to find a compromise. Of course having something like 5,000 seats would be amazing, but I can tell you that there's no way we find that amount of fans in February in Berlin for example. We have to balance between high-capacity events like Worlds and the regular studio use, ensuring the best experience for both in-person and online viewers.

The VCT has been taking more and more space in the competitive calendar, sometimes colliding with the LEC. Will its rise and a potential addition of 2XKO esports influence such decisions?

The VCT does have some impact, but not a major one. We share the studio with VCT, but this doesn’t significantly affect how we run the LEC. We manage the calendar and scheduling to accommodate both, and while there may be mixed reactions, it doesn't change the way we conduct the LEC. We’re just handling both events within the shared space.

Do you have any closing words?

Thanks for the interview! I hope you enjoy this weekend's finals. I believe they’re going to be the most-watched ever. Hopefully, this will push us to have the best season ever. If not, we’ll be very close. We’re all very excited about this event at Riot.

Header Photo Credit: Steph Lindgren/Riot Games