The LCS will change forever in 2025 when Riot Games combines the league with the LLA and CBLOL to make the League of Americas. Here is everything we know about the new league, including its format and which teams are involved.
Riot revealed massive changes to the LoL esports landscape on June 11, 2024, with a third international event, Fearless Draft, multi-regional leagues, and guest team slots.
The multi-regional league system for the Americas region will look much like Valorant’s system with teams from Brazil and Latin America playing alongside North American squads. The format of the new league will also look similar, with a three-split structure.
The Americas league will only feature 12 teams in 2025, so multiple franchises across the LCS, CBLOL, and LLA will get the cut.
Which teams are in the League of Americas
Riot Games has yet to confirm which teams are participating in the League of Americas for the 2025 season. They will be announced after the 2024 League of Legends World Championship.
However, reports have revealed two teams from the LCS that will not move on to the new league: NRG Esports and Immortals. This leaves only 100 Thieves, Cloud9, Dignitas, FlyQuest, Shopify Rebellion, and Team Liquid left to move over, though it is not set in stone.
The new league will feature two six-team conferences. One conference will compete in LA and the other from São Paulo. It is not yet known which CBLOL or LLA teams are getting cut out of the other conference at the time of writing.
League of Americas format
The two conferences, called the North and South conferences, will play with the same format and calendar in their respective home bases. Cross-conference play will occur twice a year for teams to fight for seeds at major events.
The first split will kick off the year with a massive in-conference tournament with the two top teams from each facing off at the end, presumably for a spot at an international event.
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The second split will follow a “traditional format,” likely featuring round-robin league matches. The top team from each conference will earn a spot at MSI. N cross-conference play will occur during this split.
The third and final split will have “aggressive formats” with series play, meaning best-of-three matches. The top teams from each conference will face off at a LAN event called the Regional Championship for a Worlds spot.
The other two spots will be doled out to the top-performing teams based on league play from the North and South respectively.
Americas Tier 2 and guest team slots
Riot Games has also announced changes to the Tier 2 ecosystem and how teams will earn a guest slot in the League of Americas.
Each conference will have a promotion tournament featuring the top two teams from two Tier 2 leagues. The North conference tournament will have teams from NACL and the new Liga Regional Norte league, and the South tournament will have teams from CBLOL Academy and the new Liga Regional Sur.
The League of Americas promotion tournament will be double elimination and will also see the guest team from last season fight for a chance to stay in the league with a preferential seed.
This article will be updated as more information is released about the new multi-regional league following the conclusion of Worlds 2024.