LoL: Disguised retains their spot in the LCS

The journey continues for Disguised. On Sunday, the LTA North 2025 guest team claimed victory in the promotion tournament for the 2026 season of North America’s premier League of Legends competition, which will once again carry its original name: the LCS. In a LAN final played at Riot Games’ studios in Mexico City—albeit without a live audience—Jeremy "Disguised Toast" Wang’s team dispatched NACL’s two-time champions, Luminosity Gaming, with a 3-1 scoreline. Just four days earlier, DSG had already swept the same opponent 3-0 in the upper bracket final.

Disguised thus closes out its 2025 campaign on a positive note, despite what was otherwise a lackluster year—participation in the promotion tournament was a mandatory step to retain its slot, regardless the results. The team finished at the bottom of the standings in the first two splits and only slightly improved in the third, placing 5th–6th after falling to Cloud9 in the opening round of the playoffs.

To mount this final run, DSG made two roster changes. Midlaner Isaac "DARKWINGS" Cho, a long-standing figure in the North American Tier 2 scene, was finally given an opportunity at the highest level. The team also brought in Cho "Rahel" Min-seong, who had been released from SK Gaming in the LEC following a disappointing Winter Split. The South Korean AD Carry proved decisive in the promotion final, dominating the last two games with a combined KDA of 16/3/11.

While Disguised’s victory denied the LCS a new contender, the league will still welcome a fresh face in 2026. With 100 Thieves having announced its withdrawal from competitive League of Legends earlier this year, Sentinels will take its place—first reported by Sheep Esports and later confirmed by Riot Games.

Meanwhile, the guest slot model trialed in North America this year appears to have paved the way for a broader shift in franchised leagues. A year after Disguised’s participation in the LTA North, the LEC is set to experiment with the integration of top Tier 2 teams. As previously reported by Sheep Esports, Los Ratones—winners of two EMEA Masters titles in 2025 and the highest-performing ERL team overall—will compete in a winter tournament alongside LEC squads. The winner of the summer edition will join Marc “Caedrel” Lamont’s team in representing regional Tier 2 talent on the LEC stage.