Riot is shaking up the LoL Esports ecosystem in 2025. New tournaments, structural changes and new formats. 2025 is going to change the future of LoL Esports.
Global Region Restructure
In 2025 Riot will reduce the number of top tier regions from 8 to 5. This has been a long time coming after years of gradual region merges.
- China (LPL): LPL will remain its own region, with strong teams and a strong fanbase.
- Korea (LCK): LCK will also be its own region, known for innovation and mechanical skill.
- EMEA: Europe, Turkey, Middle East, North Africa and CIS.
- Americas: North America, Latin America North (LAN), Latin America South (LAS) and Brazil will combine into one pan-regional league.
- Asia Pacific (APAC): This region will combine Southeast Asia, Vietnam, Japan and Oceania into a new top tier league.
The Americas Unified League
The Americas will have a pan-regional league with two conferences:
- North Conference: Includes teams from the former LCS and Latin America North.
- South Conference: Includes teams from Brazil (CBLOL) and Latin America South.
Each conference will have 8 teams, 7 permanent and 1 guest spot for promotion and relegation through a revamped Tier 2 system. This merger aims to create a stronger competitive environment and address the viewership decline in some regions.
The New APAC League
The League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP) will have 8 teams:
- 4 franchised teams, selected through an application process.
- 4 non-franchised teams, based on regional playoff performance.
This combines smaller regions like Japan, Oceania and Vietnam into one bigger stage for their top teams. The LCP also introduces a hybrid of franchising and promotion/relegation to bring in fresh talent and competition.
Three-Split Year
Riot is moving to a three-split year to keep fans and players engaged:
- Split 1 (Jan-Mar): The new international tournament First Stand will be the season opener.
- Split 2 (Apr-Jun): Regional splits leading to MSI in July.
- Split 3 (Aug-Oct): Regional Championships that lead to Worlds.
Each split will lead into a big event to create a narrative driven season and keep competition high.
First Stand
First Stand will debut in 2025 as the season opener, replacing regional starts. March 10-16 at LoL Park in Seoul, South Korea.
Fearless Draft Format
One of the best parts of First Stand is the Fearless Draft format. Teams will have to diversify their strategies and champion pools by banning champions picked in earlier games of a series. It will create more creative gameplay and reward teams with more champion depth.
Tournament Format
Each region will send one team to First Stand. The tournament will have:
- A round-robin group stage where teams play each other in Bo3 series.
- Top 4 teams advance to a single-elimination playoff stage with Bo5 series.
This format is high stakes and competitive, perfect for the 2025 season opener.
MSI and Worlds
Mid-Season Invitational (MSI)
MSI will move to July in 2025 to align with the competitive calendar. 10 teams will participate, with 2 additional slots for the best performing regions in the previous MSI.
World Championship (Worlds)
Worlds 2025 will have 17 teams with the following slots:
- 3 teams per region.
- 2 teams for the MSI champion and runner-up region.
The Play-In Stage will be single Bo5 matches with winners advancing directly to the Swiss Stage. This new format will simplify the tournament while keeping competition high.
Read about our Worlds 2024 coverage here.
Tier-1 and Tier-2 Changes
Tier-1 Teams Reduction
To address sustainability, we will reduce the number of Tier-1 teams from 80 in 2024 to 61 in 2025. This will create more competition and financial stability for the teams.
Tier-2 Leagues
Tier-2 leagues will mirror Tier-1 leagues with:
- A two-split format that runs parallel to Tier-1’s second and third splits.
- Promotion and relegation system to keep the competition fresh and rewarding for up and coming talent.
The Americas will have a guest spot system for Tier-2 teams to challenge for a spot in the top league.
Fearless Draft Everywhere
Fearless Draft will be in all regional and international tournaments in 2025. Tested in secondary leagues like LDL (China) and NACL (North America), it has shown to create innovation and champion depth. Now it will be in all major tournaments to create more gameplay.
2025 Gameplay Changes: The New Esports Era
The 2025 season, read here on the start and end dates for LoL splits and seasons, will coincide with significant changes to Summoner’s Rift. Riot has timed these changes with the new competitive structure and is introducing a thematic overhaul and new mechanics that will impact pro play.
The Noxian Invasion theme is in Season One, with the Rift getting visual updates to match the brutal and militaristic Noxus aesthetic. Turrets, minions and shopkeepers will have new designs to make it feel more immersive without compromising competition.
Gameplay wise, the new epic monster Atakhan adds a mid-game objective. Spawns at 20 minutes and takes one of two forms based on game activity, giving unique buffs for team fights. Along with the new Blood Roses mechanic, this adds more decision making to the game.
Feats of Strength replaces traditional gold rewards for first blood and other early game objectives. It introduces long term benefits through new tier-3 boots with unique effects. This will create more depth in pro play and solo queue.
And finally, the Teleport changes (slower early game travel time) to balance lane and keep it strategic in mid-late game map control. Along with Nexus Turret respawns and runes changes, this is Riot’s push for a more tactical and flexible gameplay.
Hoping to reach Diamond next year? Check the guide on how to climb to and out of Diamond.
This will create more skill expression and champion depth in competitive play. See you in 2025.
LoL Esports
Riot’s 2025 changes are a new era for LoL Esports. By combining regions, introducing new formats and a year round competitive calendar Riot is building a more sustainable and fun ecosystem for fans and players.
Whether it’s the First Stand action, the mid-season drama of MSI or the World’s final battles, 2025 will be a big year for LoL. Fans everywhere can look forward to a season of epic moments, crazy strategies and the evolution of the esport they love.
