This year, the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) took a bold new direction: two regular season Roadtrips in Madrid and Évry-Courcouronnes brought top-tier League of Legends competition back to local crowds across Europe. While fans praised the initiative and teams embraced the opportunity to connect with their home bases, many questions remained behind the scenes—how are these events funded, who decides which teams get to attend, and what role does Riot Games actually play?

In an exclusive interview, Artem Bykov, Commissioner of the LEC, sits down with Sheep Esports to dig into the logistics, motivations, and future of the Roadtrip project. From the financial structure to Riot’s long-term ambitions, Artem offers a candid look at how this experiment came together, and its future.

Riot scaled back to just one roadshow a year due to high costs. So, who is mainly financing the Roadtrips now—are the teams covering it, is Riot helping out, or is it split in some way?

Artem Bykov: The main responsibility of running the Roadtrip lies with the LEC teams. There are certain parts of the production that the Riot team is supporting though. For example, the broadcast is produced out of our studios in Dublin and Berlin. Riot also supports the event with production management and promotional communications, like we would for a regular LEC matchday. So these elements are funded by us, but you know, the big majority of the organization lies on the teams, and basically, they are responsible for taking care of the event and the arena.

Do the attending teams have to cover their own travel and accommodation costs—like flights and hotels—or is that funded by the hosting teams?

Artem Bykov: In our setup for the Roadtrips, it's the responsibility of the hosting teams to arrange travel and accommodation for the attending teams. Some teams have their own facilities in other countries, so they may find certain agreements with whoever is running the Roadtrip, but the host is completely in charge of the logistics there.

Is it also up to the hosting teams to decide who joins the Roadtrip or did Riot have any say in selecting the teams?

Artem Bykov: We provide a lot of flexibility to the teams with these events, and it was up to the teams to choose which teams to invite to their events.

Some pointed out that BDS, Heretics, and Rogue didn’t get to attend either of the two Roadtrips in Madrid and Évry. That means fewer opportunities for them to grow their fanbase or gain experience playing in front of a live crowd. Is this something Riot considered when planning the Roadtrips? And if they continue, would Riot try to ensure that all teams get included?

Artem Bykov: Innovating the LEC is a core priority, and creating this whole Roadtrip concept has been the biggest bet we’ve taken this year. This season has been a trial for us, and it’s hard to do something new perfectly on the very first try. I would love to see all ten teams playing and being invited, but it wasn’t possible this time around due to certain limitations. We only had two Roadtrips, and ended up featuring just seven teams in total. In my opinion, for a first attempt—and considering the results we’ve seen—this trial has been a great success, both in Évry and Madrid. Looking ahead, we’ll of course try to make it work in a way where all teams can be present.

In the past, people have said that only having one roadshow a year felt a bit disappointing, especially given how diverse the LEC is and how much fans want to see it across Europe. Was the Roadtrip idea a response to that fan sentiment? And was this also a more affordable way to make that vision happen?

Artem Bykov: The origin story of the Roadtrip is twofold. On one hand, as you said, we’ve been hearing fans loud and clear over the past few years—they want to see more local events, they want to see the LEC on the big stage. We’ve always been thinking about how we could make that happen. On the other hand, LEC teams have been telling us they want more opportunities to play on bigger stages. So over the past couple of years, we’ve been working on how to create a system and a framework that could meet both those needs—from fans and teams alike. That’s why last year we decided to go for it and evolve the LEC format for 2025 in a way that could enable those Roadtrips. The introduction of a regular season with best-of-threes is one of the ways we’re making that possible. And that’s how Roadtrips came to reality. We’re very happy that we invested the time and effort into making it happen—it’s been a great, great experiment so far.

You mentioned in an interview with L'Équipe that if feedback remained positive, you’d consider integrating Roadtrips more thoroughly into future LEC calendars. Given how things have gone, it’s fair to say feedback has remained positive. Would you say it’s pretty much a given that the LEC will continue down this path?

Artem Bykov: I have nothing concrete to share for next year. That said, fan feedback has been fantastic, and we feel like we’ve created something amazing for them. Now, we need to do a deep dive with the teams and LEC staff—including production and partners—which we’ll do after a short break following Évry, to assess how everything went on their end. If today’s event in Évry ends well and everyone feels good about it, we’d absolutely love to enable more Roadtrips in the future. The initiative has to come from the teams—they need to approach us and show their interest in organizing one. From Riot’s side, the ambition is to create a sustainable framework so that more of these events can happen moving forward.

How long in advance did you have to start working on the Roadtrips, especially for Madrid and Évry? Was it something already in talks last year, or did it come together more recently?

Artem Bykov: We’ve been thinking about this concept for several years now. Around August last year, we created the blueprint document outlining all the details of the Roadtrip. That’s when we presented the idea to the LEC teams. Movistar KOI were among the first to raise their hand and offer to help make it a reality. KC was perfectly positioned—with access to Les Arènes and a very passionate fan base—so they quickly came on board with their custom plans. We’ve been working with both of them since August 2024.

Have other teams approached you about bringing their own events to life? If something was planned for summer, I assume it would already have been planned out and announced, right?

Artem Bykov: Yeah, there won’t be any Roadtrips this summer. Our third and final event of 2025 will take place in Madrid—our second time there this year—which will close out the season. Regarding the LEC teams, I’d be surprised if the eight teams that haven’t yet organized an event aren’t already thinking about how to bring similar experiences to their local fans, while also considering what unique strengths they can offer to make it happen. We meet with the LEC teams in person twice a year to discuss plans for the upcoming season. I imagine Roadtrips will be a major topic at the next meeting, especially given how positively fans have received them so far.

Do you think the Roadtrips represent a key change to boost the LEC’s presence and appeal, especially since it feels like the league has been somewhat stagnant the past few years?

Artem Bykov: Innovation is in our DNA, and we always want to try new things. We’ve constantly been working to evolve the LEC, whether it’s with the three-split format or changes to co-streaming. This year, Roadtrips are our big focus—our big play to make the league more exciting for the fans. I sadly can’t commit to anything for next year right now, but this is what everyone’s talking about, right? We’ve seen that fans really, really like it. We see a lot of potential in this structure, where we’re more regionally present across EMEA while keeping our home base in Berlin. Our home remains important because it allows us to run matches that are harder to predict, like playoffs or finals. These are games that are tough to plan for during Roadtrips since you can’t know the participants in advance. If I could redo this year, my only regret would be that the two Roadtrips weren’t spaced far enough apart. But these were concessions we had to make to bring this year’s project to reality.

How and when was Madrid chosen to host this year’s Summer Finals?

Artem Bykov: Choosing the cities for the LEC Finals is always a process that starts at least a year in advance, especially for an event of that scale. Choosing Madrid was, I’d say, an easy decision. First of all, the Spanish community has repeatedly shown how incredibly passionate they are about League of Legends — and they proved it again at the Roadtrip. The LEC also has a strong history with Madrid. For example, the 2018 LEC final was held there, and it’s hosted World Championship stages as well. So it wasn’t a question of if we’d go back to Madrid, but rather when. I’m incredibly excited that we’ll be there twice this year. It’s great to be back in September, and this time we’ll have three days fully focused on the LEC, including a Friday match that will be a World’s qualifying game — which is going to be great.

Webedia took over the EMEA Masters last year. The tournament’s official account recently mentioned some upcoming news after it was announced that EMEA Masters would no longer be part of the LEC Finals. Is Riot still involved, or are the reins fully in Webedia’s hands now?

Artem Bykov: When it comes to Madrid specifically, there won’t be any EMEA Masters-type activation on site. Over the past couple of years, we’ve been experimenting with different formats for both EMEA Masters and the LEC. Playing the EMEA Masters final during the LEC was like the stars aligning perfectly in Montpellier and Munich. This time, we decided to shake things up a bit and put the entire focus on the LEC, with all three games played in Madrid. The EMEA Masters team will plan something else, which I’m sure will also delight the fans.

Just to clarify, Webedia is the EMEA Masters team, right?

Artem Bykov: Well, yes—they are running the EMEA Masters, so it’s going to be up to them. Of course, we’re not separate from them; we talk to them very closely and work together. It’s the responsibility of the Webedia team to decide how the EMEA Masters final will look.

Over the past few years, Riot has been focusing more on larger fan bases like Madrid, Munich, and Montpellier—targeting the "big three" of Spain, Germany, and France. Previously, countries with smaller fanbases were more often chosen for events, with cities like Malmö, Athens, Rotterdam, Copenhagen, and even Kraków being featured. Has there been a shift in Riot’s priorities?

Artem Bykov: The regional diversity of the EMEA region is one of our biggest strengths, right? There are various ways we're playing to that. Our network of broadcast partners and co-streamers covers the LEC in more than 15 languages—that’s one way we reach more local communities. And Roadtrips, you know, they bring regional activation to another level. So I think Roadtrips are the concept we envision as an opportunity to bring the LEC to more locations across EMEA, especially for fans who may not have the ability to travel to the Riot Games Arena in Berlin or to the LEC Finals.

Back in 2020 before COVID, there were plans to go to Budapest for Spring, but it never happened—and there’s been no news since. Was that idea just abandoned because of the pandemic? Is there any chance we’ll see Budapest again for the LEC?

Artem Bykov: To be very transparent, there are no concrete or current plans for Budapest. That event was planned and discussed before I joined Riot, so there’s nothing I can really comment on specifically regarding Budapest.

Right now, most LEC teams are either French, Spanish, or German. Aside from maybe Fnatic in the UK, there are very few that represent other regions. Do you think it’s fair to put the responsibility on teams to explore other countries? And aren’t you worried that focusing so heavily on these specific regions might alienate fans in other parts of EMEA who feel left out? By the end of 2025, the LEC will have remained in these three countries exclusively over the last three years of competition.

Artem Bykov: You know, for this year, it made a lot of sense because KOI and Karmine Corp were perfectly positioned to run these events. France and Spain were just ideal destinations for the Roadtrips. But looking ahead, we’re definitely open to going to more countries across EMEA. It’ll be up to the LEC teams to pitch where they want to go and what kind of events they’d like to organize. I’ve already seen some team owners bring this up, talking about where a Roadtrip could happen for their communities. So yeah, France and Spain were just the starting point this year. We’re always open and actively looking for new opportunities where the LEC can go. Of course, making these events sustainable for teams is also critical. And naturally, that’s a bit easier to do in countries with a large, concentrated fanbase. But Roadtrips in the future can take different forms—different scopes, different venue sizes, different formats. I’m really excited to see what kinds of events teams will pitch us. And on our end, we’re committed to supporting them with the right structure and framework to help make these events happen.