Riot Games may move the LEC to exclusively online matches, outside of Roadtrips, from 2027 according to rumours currently circulating online.
While co-streaming the ongoing First Stand tournament, retired League of Legends pro Kim ‘Wadid’ Bae-in revealed he has heard that Riot is considering moving the LEC out of the usual Riot Games Arena studio in Berlin.
Riot hosts all LEC events at that said studio other than Roadtrips — live arena events hosted and organised by an LEC team — and the Season Finals, which is currently the only Riot-organised LAN event for the LEC each year.
And according to Wadid, these arena shows and Roadtrips would still happen, but the majority of the season would be played online.
Currently, the Berlin studio is shared between the LEC and another Riot-owned esports property in Valorant’s VCT EMEA league. It’s not known if this alleged change would affect the Valorant league or not.
LEC Cancels Live Events Rumour
Translated by a Redditor, what South Korean streamer Wadid allegedly said is:
“Why is the LEC in trouble? Starting next year, the Berlin studio might disappear. From 2027 onward, they might move every match online, completely shut down the Berlin studio, and there may no longer be any offline broadcasts going forward.”
The LEC has hosted online matches before, but only during the COVID-19 pandemic when live events were not allowed.
It’s possible that cancelling live shows would be taken as a cost-cutting measure by the League of Legends publisher.
Live esports events are expensive to run, hence why the NLC LoL tournament is currently without an organiser.
Riot has already been cutting costs for its esports leagues by hosting fewer arena shows and occasionally running game days without live audiences.
Wadid claims he heard this news from a “highly reliable source” and has also heard that some teams are already preparing for online matches.
Wadid added that while he doesn’t like the current set-up in Berlin, he has heard that Riot isn’t even considering opening up a venue in a new location.
For now, Riot has not made any official statement and from Wadid’s claims, it doesn’t sound like a decision has yet been made.
What do you think about the possibility of the LEC being moved to exclusively online? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord.
Meanwhile, in more hopeful LoL esports news, Rekkles has announced he isn’t retiring.
