The
LEC 2026 Season is entering its final stage here in Nice, and many are already looking towards 2027, wondering what
Riot Games may have in store for the future. In an exclusive interview with
Sheep Esports,
LEC Commissioner Artem Bykov explained the core philosophy behind Riot’s vision for the league. He also looked back at the LEC’s
road trips, Summer Split viewership, and the league’s approach to upholding its
Code of Conduct. And finally, while he could not share the full plans for the future, Bykov confirmed one major change for the Winter Split:
the discontinuation of LEC Versus.
How are you feeling, and how are you enjoying the LEC Finals in Nice?
Artem Bykov: “Good to see you, Armand. It is always a pleasure to come to Southern France. You know, Nice is incredible. I went for a swim yesterday morning, it was really nice. The event is great. The atmosphere yesterday was amazing, with NAVI versus MKOI, today, of course, the El Clasico, LEC-style of France versus Spain. I’ve been to many of these events across both countries, and they always deliver.
How do you feel about the LEC Summer Split's viewership, particularly the decline in average viewership compared to last year?
Artem Bykov: Yeah, I appreciate you asking this because whenever you look at the viewership, context matters a lot. We've seen, first of all, that this year, overall, we already have the most-watched LEC season ever when we look at the hours watched, and that's even before the last two matches of Summer Split. We also increased the number of show days from last year to this year…
Which makes it more likely to be the most-watched season, right?
Artem Bykov: That's correct, but also, the more days you have, the less impact the spikes in viewership have, and so the average viewership also declines, which is in line with our expectations. We changed the format for the Summer Split, so it is longer. Last year, we had 66 show days; this year, we have 75. So there have been some ebbs and flows and changes that impacted the viewership.
Overall, I think with this being the most-watched year ever, we are happy. I think some impact on the average viewership was expected by us. But viewership is not the only thing that we look at when we think of the LEC's success.
We look at the fan sentiment, of course, and it has been great overall throughout the year. We see the amount of live experiences we are able to deliver, how happy the pro teams are, and, of course, the performance on the international stage. This year has been very promising, with G2 finishing second at First Stand, top four at MSI, and KC creating a spectacle at the EWC in Paris, of course.
This weekend is exciting, but I'm also excited to watch Worlds very soon.
Some felt that the Summer Split was a bit stale because the road trip in Week 1 brought many of the biggest matchups together at the start. How do you feel about that?
Artem Bykov: You know from all our interviews that we love to experiment with things. For Paris this year, in Summer Split, our first weekend of the split, we didn't invite teams based on performance. That was the decision of, as with all road trips, the organizing team is deciding who to invite. It is true that we had some of the biggest names in the LEC during week one, and I agree it had impact on the other weeks. Overall, I'm happy with the decision we made. I wouldn't change it…
Would you do it again, having a road trip with the top four teams?
Artem Bykov: I think this year it worked out really well for us because we also had a launch of League Classic on that weekend, so we wanted to do this EU LCS show match special, like really special weekend and draw as much attention as possible for that weekend.
Overall, there is still some work to be done in terms of polishing the overall match scheduling of the split. We know it. I think Spring Split was not ideal.
We got a bit better in Summer Split. Just a few days ago, we did a deep dive with all LEC teams, and we agreed that, hey, for the next year, it's going to be our priority to, ahead of each split, to sit down together and create the best possible match scheduling. I don't think it's ever going to be perfect.
There are too many factors involved, and we will need to balance things out. We have so many considerations to keep in mind.
What did you think about the MKOI situation, with them missing their own road trip, and is this something you would allow again?
Artem Bykov: It was our second time we've had a playoffs road trip. Overall, looking in the future, we would not prioritize this. If possible, we knew that this is a risk. MKOI knew this. We knew this. That was part of our planning. Of course, not ideal. Luckily, we had an LEC final on Sunday, so at least MKOI was on stage. But looking into the next year, we will prioritize the regular season road trips, because there you can guarantee that the team is playing.
Do you think the Summer Split could have been more exciting, and are there areas where the LEC could improve?
Artem Bykov: Always.
I think it depends what you compare it to. Our LEC Versus, and Spring were really strong this year, so maybe that's part of this whiplash and feeling that, “hey, this doesn't feel as exciting.”
Summer is also a special period when there is a lot of vacations, people are not as engaged. Many people forget the summer last year. I think when I compare last year to this year, I definitely think it's more fun than it's been back then.
I don't want to sugarcoat it, of course. There are always ways to improve.
What changes would you like to see in the future?
Artem Bykov: I think in terms of very achievable things, I would say don't do a road trip in the playoffs. Maybe do one more of this in the Summer Split. More locations, maybe. When we know that summer is generally a less engaging period, let's have more of the road trips if possible. Having more balanced match scheduling is another one. There are a few things we can tweak here and there in the future.
How do you reflect on the and incident, and do you think Riot should adjust how it handles this kind of behavior?
Artem Bykov: We have our Code of Conduct that all fans, all pro players across Riot’s esports ecosystem are following. LoL Esports is the leading esports in the world, so we have an expectation of our players to have a high standard…
How much flexibility does the LEC have to interpret or change the rules compared to the global rules?
Artem Bykov: The rules are the same for everybody, but we have a certain degree of flexibility to interpret the situation. The context matters. A lot of the situations are not black and white. There's a lot of gray area, and we do have agency in deciding this.
In fact, we've already adapted our mindset in these two instances that you mentioned. Of course, there's been the situation with
in Madrid in Spring. There's a lot to be said about this weekend, but after it happened, we saw feedback from fans. We spoke to the teams. We also have regular player representative meetings. They also shared their feedback, and we realized that we need to reconsider where our boundaries are when it comes to these behaviors.
Did you apply the same adapted approach to the Way and nuc situation as well?
Artem Bykov: We already adapted for this situation, and I think the penalties were appropriate for that. We're continuing, evaluating again. This is a gray area. It's a difficult balance to tackle.
Did you see the reactions to the Way and nuc situation, and what did you make of them?
Artem Bykov: Yes. It was... Emotions fly high on social media, and it's really important for us to separate from the usual buzz of social media and important signals for us what to change.
After the situation with Jojopyun in Spring, we heard clear feedback from pro players, from teams, and we acted on this. The situation in Summer Split, yes, there was a spike on social media, but we haven't received much feedback other than that from the pro players or from the pro teams.
Could the LEC become more unfiltered, or does Riot want to keep things safer for its wider audience?
Artem Bykov: It’s not really about sponsors. There is absolutely room for more banter and trash talking. This is what makes sport exciting, right? So we absolutely need this.
At the same time, when we see reactions on social media, and yes, they were overwhelming after Madrid, for example, but we need to look at all LEC fans, right? And we want to make sure that the environment we have is professional, inclusive, welcoming for everybody. That's the fine line to walk. That's what we intend to do. So we are listening to the fans and pros, and you also let us know what you think and how we're doing.
With all the discussions around the future of the EMEA ecosystem, and people calling for Riot to adapt and keep the system dynamic, especially after the recent VCT rework opening up the circuits more, do you think there is room in the future for major changes to the LEC?
Artem Bykov: Right now, we don't plan any structural changes to the LEC. We do plan to evolve our ecosystem and experiment. We do follow closely, of course, what is happening with VCT. But right now, no changes are planned.
But I fully agree with you that the LEC needs to stay dynamic. We are always looking for ways to do just that. It's a shame I cannot yet share the plans that we have for next year, but they are ambitious, they are exciting. I think our fans are going to love them. So stay tuned.
Can we expect something similar to this year, or are there going to be changes, especially with everyone looking at the LEC Versus in Winter? ERL players are competing right now without really knowing if they're going to have a shot at the LEC again? Is it going to be the same as before?
Artem Bykov: Yeah, one thing I can share is that we are not bringing LEC Versus back. We are sticking to the classic LEC format, with 10 LEC teams playing. LEC Versus was a great experiment for us this year. We also see that it paved the way for other competitions that happened this year. And it showed that, hey, this type of Tier 2 tie-in can work. So it was one of the first steps towards the EWC Qualifier, for example, that happened later...
Could there be other ways for ERL teams to play in the LEC next year, even if LEC versus is no longer happening in Winter?
Artem Bykov: That's currently not planned for next year.
We feel like there's great developments in the Tier 2 space outside of LEC. We now have the World Star Challengers Invitational (WSCI) happening. So that's also very exciting. So we see that currently other organizers outside of LEC are taking this niche and organizing these tournaments.
We are focusing on the core LEC teams.
Could this focus eventually change in a distant future? I feel like some people may be disappointed about the removal of the LEC Versus.
Artem Bykov: It’s a tricky question. Can this ever change, yeah, of course! You know, at some point, it may change. But, candidly, that's not where my mind is right now. I'm very deep into 2027 planning. You know, people meet me here at the arena, and they think that I work on this event, but we are behind the scenes. We are really laser-focused on the next year.
If bringing Tier 2 teams into the LEC isn't the focus, what is the main focus and guiding line for the LEC next year?
Artem Bykov: Well, you know the drill. One of our biggest bets is road trips. We discussed all the successes we've had with them so far, as well as improvement areas which we plan to act on next year. So that's where a lot of our planning goes to. And, of course, the core LEC format that we have in the Riot Games Arena.
I think we have a really solid plan in place. We're going to have, you know, more high-stakes moments, more high-pressure moments as well, where teams can practice ahead of the international tournaments…
Should we expect more in-depth formats as a trade-off then?
Artem Bykov: Don't expect major changes, I would say. Like, we are more of refining our classic formula in the areas where we see fans want us to do more. I think the plan is good. LEC teams are also happy about it. Nothing is final just yet. That's why also I cannot share it today. But we are getting close and you will learn about it soon.
Is there anything you want to say to LEC fans about the future of the league?
Artem Bykov: The future is bright. Thank you, everybody, for watching and following the LEC. Thank you for everybody being in the Palais Nikaïa today. In Nice, the atmosphere is incredible. I already had goosebumps, hype, and chills yesterday. I cannot imagine how it's going to be today.
Please cheer for the LEC teams at Worlds. It's going to be exciting. And we appreciate all of your support, and thank you Armand.”
