The following was sent to Inven Global as press release.

Riot Games, the developer and publisher best known for League of Legends and VALORANT, has today announced esports industry leader Artem Bykov has joined Riot Games as Commissioner of the League of Legends European Championship Series (LEC). Artem brings a wealth of experience from the esports and games industry, having previously worked at Natus Vincere (NAVI), Blizzard Entertainment and most recently, ESL Gaming.

As LEC Commissioner, Artem is tasked with building a thriving competitive ecosystem for League of
Legends and will be a leading representative of the leagues professional teams and their owners, the media, fans and partners. Artem will also work closely with Head of Esports for League of Legends in EMEA, Maximilian Peter Schmidt, and Esports Product Manager, Filipe Borges on the holistic ecosystem for League of Legends esports in Europe.

New LEC Commissioner Artem Bykov said: “I am thrilled to join Riot Games as Commissioner of the LEC. The LEC is continuing to go from strength to strength and I am relishing the opportunity to help build on the success of the League. Riot’s player first experience and dedication to the growth of esports is why I am eager to get underway during what is a super exciting time for League of Legends in the EMEA region.”

Artem succeeds current LEC Commissioner Maximilian Peter Schmidt who was recently promoted to
Head of Esports for League of Legends in EMEA. Schmidt said: “I could not be more excited to welcome Artem to take the torch of Commissioner of the LEC. Artem’s many years of business and product experience as well as his passion for esports make him best equipped to lead the LEC at this point in our growth stage. We’re delighted he’s joining the team to build on our plans for the LEC.”

Artem previously worked with ESL Gaming where he built esports ecosystems and led development for new products as a General Manager. Before ESL, Artem spent more than five years at Blizzard
Entertainment, where he launched global and regional esports products for Hearthstone, StarCraft,
Warcraft and Heroes of the Storm.