Los Ratones’ coach and founder Marc “Caedrel” Lamont announced on Monday 1st on Instagram that the team, recently crowned NLC Summer Split champions, will compete at the EMEA Masters Summer from September 29 to November 2, with the final at Paris Games Week. Despite earlier uncertainty as the dates coincide with Worlds 2025 in China, where the team had considered traveling to scrim top teams and play solo queue during the most competitive period of the year.

Los Ratones have won all three NLC splits this year, sweeping NORD Esports 3-0 in both the Winter and Spring finals before defeating Verdant by the same score in Summer. They replicated that success at the EMEA Masters, clean sweeping Ici Japon Corp in Winter and Barça eSports in Spring. With the ERL Golden Road now within reach—an achievement never before accomplished—Los Ratones stand just one trophy away from making history.

An uncertain future

After the announcement, Caedrel clarified: “After that, I have no clue where LR will go,” adding that he doesn’t want to simply repeat what they achieved this year. Moving up to the next level and joining Riot Games’ Tier 1 League of Legends circuit seems difficult, but not impossible. Caedrel explained: “There’s still a promise of possibilities for next year, so fingers crossed we can find the right direction,” referring to the team’s chances of taking it to the next level in 2026.

As a reminder, the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) is currently a fully closed league, with ten franchised teams having purchased their slots to compete. The most recent addition was Natus Vincere in Summer 2025, but other examples include Karmine Corp in 2024, Team Heretics in 2023, and Team BDS in 2022. The European league is constantly evolving, and with Caedrel’s team’s large fanbase and viewership, it’s not impossible that something could happen, as the major leagues remain the only path for a team to qualify for Worlds.