There are a ton of great and popular esports out there, but League of Legends continues to be near the top of the list. There is a big and important event set to begin later this week, and a couple of big announcements have recently come from this sport. 

Riot Games is looking to capitalize on the popularity of this sport with another big event, and some leagues are also going to merge into one. While League of Legends is one of the leaders in this industry, it has also learned some important lessons from other esports. 

Here is a look at a couple of the biggest news stories surrounding this sport that will have a huge impact moving forward. 

Third International Event Coming

Riot Games wants to get more fans involved in this sport, and it also wants to create an opportunity for teams to compete on a bigger level. A brand new international tournament will be added to the schedule in 2025, and it’s one that should have many excited. 

Not only will the split system be changed beginning in 2025, but teams will now have more opportunities to qualify for major events. This new event is going to be a bit exclusive though as only five teams are going to be invited to participate in the first version of it. 

This tournament will be held in March, but Riot Games has not yet announced a name for the brand new event. Riot Games recognizes that there are unique challenges currently facing the sport, and they are trying to stay ahead of the curve. 

This will be an international LAN tournament, and the five winners from each of the regions will be given a chance to compete. There are currently more than five leagues out there, but that number will be reduced with the other big announcement in this sport. 

Since the season is broken down into many different parts, teams and organizations will now have more opportunities to cash in. The winners from the first split will get the five spots, while the other splits will determine other international participants. 

Riot Games is expected to provide more information about this new tournament in the coming weeks, but it’s officially on the calendar for 2025 and beyond. 

Riot Games Merging Leagues

The other big announcement from Riot Games will have an immediate impact on the league action that has become extremely popular and competitive. There are going to be three leagues that are merging into one, and it could end the run for some organizations. 

The three leagues that are going to be merging are the CBLOL, LCS, and LLA, and they are now going to form the Pan-Americas League. This is not going to be a long process either as this new league will begin play in 2025. 

There are going to be two separate conferences as a part of this league, and that should still keep things relatively local. The biggest change is coming to LLA as those teams are going to be fighting for a spot in the other conferences. 

This vision came to Riot Games after studying what is done in VALORANT action, and it’s going to end up being virtually the same exact system. There will be some relegation involved in this new tiered-system, and it should eventually create more competition throughout the sport. 

By reducing the number of leagues from three to one, that will open up more Wild Card spots in some of the top international events. There will likely be some growing pains at first, but it won’t take long for things to get sorted out.