LCS, LLA & CBLOL to merge in a two-conferences region for 2025

A revolution has been set in motion within the American League of Legends ecosystem. Riot Games announced this Tuesday a brand new competitive circuit. The publisher is set to unite the continent's various leagues from 2025 onwards. The league will be split into two eight-team conferences: one in the North, essentially built around the North American LCS, and one in the South, raised from the ashes of the CBLOL (Brazil). These two conferences will be merged into one for the play-offs, to crown a single American champion. Taking inspiration from the current format of the LEC, these new leagues will also feature a three-split system starting next year (winter, spring, and summer).

In addition, Riot Games will reorganize the American Tier-2 divisions to implement a system of promotion and relegation within each conference of the main league. The publisher is going to set up a tournament between teams from Tier 2, which will be used to decide who will earn their place in the elite. At the end of each season, the two structures that have made it to the major league will have to battle for their slot, regardless of their results. The publisher is expected to provide further information on the readjustment of the American second divisions by the fall.

In the North, after the removal of two LCS slots this year, the current NA championship will only have six slots left for 2025. This will result in the departure of two more franchises by then, whose identities are not yet known. The two vacant slots will be filled by a representative of the LATAM region (LLA) and a team from the Tier 2 system.

The same applies to the “Southern Conference”, except that the CBLOL will have to undergo an even more brutal transition. The Brazilian league will see its number of slots reduced from ten to six within its new division. A seventh slot will go to another LLA team, while the final one will also be allocated to a Tier 2 team.

Teams from both conferences will first compete in their own divisions during the regular season before sending their best representatives to the cross-conference play. These teams will meet at the end of each split to crown the American champion. The champion of the first split will qualify for the new international tournament announced this Tuesday by Riot Games. The best team from each conference will then qualify for the MSI at the end of the second split. Riot will hold an “Americas Regional Championship” after the third split to determine the three local representatives for Worlds, "with at least one team from each conference".