UPDATE 1/5: After finalizing its LCS and amateur rosters, Evil Geniuses has finalized its roster for EG Academy.
Following suit with the other major competitive regions, the League Championship Series has launched a rebrand headed into 2021, featuring a new LCS logo, color scheme, and identity. Read more about their rebrand here:
It's just a few days before the official start of Season 11 and Riot Games developer, Mark Yetter, has released the first patch preview of the year, featuring buffs to underperformers and nerfs to the previous patch's leaders. Read more on the context and changes of the new season here:
After another 3-3 finish at Worlds, Team Liquid and Jensen returned home looking to rebuild for the next year. Jensen re-signed with the team, finding himself as one of the two longest-standing members going into 2021. Here's what he hopes to accomplish this year:
Riot Games VP of IP & Entertainment Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street has confirmed the development of a Riot Games MMO in response to a tweet announcing his most recent job responsibility.
Just two months after Riot Games Sydney closed the Oceanic Pro League, ESL Australia has announced they will be hosting a professional League of Legends scene in Oceania together in partnership with Guinevere Capital. read more on their deal here:
Team Liquid had an interesting 2020, ending in yet another 3-3 run at Worlds. The team kept most of their roster, but they're making two key changes this off-season. Here is the official confirmed 2021 Liquid roster:
With Riot's upcoming charity fundraiser League of Legends skin, Elderwood Ornn, we thought it would be a good time to highlight and reflect on some of the amazing impact and support from the League community during such an unusual year. See how Riot and the community impacted the world here:
UPDATE 11/30: TSM has confirmed its signing of Huni, which was reported to be complete by Esportmaniacos' Pablo "Bloop" Suárez shortly before the confirmation. TSM is reportedly promoting Academy Lost, which would complete the roster.
Insanity is the sole returning player for the 2021 Immortals roster, with the other four from 2020 not finding themselves on a starting LCS roster. Though Immortals had a rocky 2020, Insanity is excited and confident for the new year. Read and watch the interview here:
Despite claiming they'd keep their roster together, Cloud9 has made a couple of changes, including promoting Fudge and Reignover. They've also been rumored to sign Perkz. Here is the current roster rumored for Cloud9:
UPDATE 12/2: FlyQuest has announced the signing of top laner Colin "Kumo" Zhao. Kumo, who split time in 2020 between Evil Geniuses and EG Academy, will be the starting top laner for FLY Academy heading into 2021.
It's no secret that the League Championship Series production wasn't up to par this Summer Split, or really, the entirety of the 2020 season. Take a deeper look into how they failed and what they need to focus on for 2021 here:
About a month after Bjergsen announced his retirement from professional League of Legends, Doublelift announced his own retirement as well. Read more about his career and retirement here:
CLG has had a rough few years since their 2016 MSI Finals appearance. They performed well in NA in 2017, but barring a 2019 Summer Split third-place finish, they've been seventh or lower for the other five splits. In 2020, CLG finished 10th in spring and ninth in summer. With that in mind, the org is in need of some rejuvenation to find their return to glory. They've officially signed three new pl
See Immortals official roster for 2021 here:
Among Liquid's off-season changes was the addition of Kold to the LCS coaching staff. Kold spoke with us about his time with Liquid at Worlds and how he hopes to power up the team in 2021. Read his interview here:
MAD Lions had an incredible first season in the LEC after rebranding from Splyce in 2020. They signed a roster full of rookies and made it to Worlds. Here is what our sources have confirmed for their 2021 roster:
After the NASG Finals came the Scouting Grounds Draft. The draft allows each team to pick up one NASG talent for exclusive negotiation rights for that player for ten days after getting drafted. This allows them a decent period of time to negotiate a contract with that player before they hit free agency (which starts Monday, November 16 otherwise). Teams get draft pi
Take a look at the first actions Riot is taking to improve Academy and Amateur - they won't be their last. Over the long term, Riot will continue listening to the community's feedback and adapting, but check out all of the upcoming plans for developing NA talent here:
