Interview: Head of League of Legends Esports Americas discusses why the LCS and CBLOL are back

After a yr of the League of The Americas (LTA), Riot Video games will restore the LCS and CBLOL as unbiased leagues in 2026. 

The choice reinstates the historic names and regional identities, whereas retaining some improvements that had been examined in 2025. Veteran followers of the leagues rejoiced on the announcement made in the course of the LTA Finals, however many questions nonetheless stay unanswered. 

On the finish of 2024, Riot Video games merged North, Central, and South America underneath the LTA, aiming to create a stronger aggressive ecosystem and a brand new enterprise mannequin. Groups would share income from digital content material moderately than sponsorships, and two conferences had been launched to steadiness native identification with cross-regional matchups.

By late 2025, the mannequin had proven clear weaknesses. Followers discovered the construction complicated, the calendar too compressed, and regional identification diminished. Only one yr after introducing the LTA, Riot introduced that the LCS and CBLOL would return, with longer splits, clearer qualification paths, and restored finals that remember regional champions.

To clarify the explanations behind this choice, Cecilia Ciocchetti of Esports Insider spoke with Carlos Antunes, Riot Video games’ Head of League of Legends Esports for the Americas. 

“I believe it’s vital to followers that there are various issues we might do, however now our focus is to ship what followers had been lacking and to point out them one of the best resolution for the issues they had been lacking,” acknowledged Antunes. 

“So we’ll present a league that has codecs and calendars which can be simpler to observe, which can be extra linked to what they had been lacking, and we’ll nonetheless carry on engaged on that.”

Antunes defined that the LTA was designed as a part of a broader world technique to right-size the aggressive ecosystem. 

The aim was to offer groups with a extra sustainable monetary base, guarantee the fitting variety of companions, and set up a mannequin the place revenues got here from digital content material moderately than sponsorships. He mentioned this strategy was meant to “create a greater enterprise mannequin for groups.”

On the Americas stage, Riot Video games believed the ‘one league, two conferences’ system might mix regional familiarity with pan-American play. Followers would nonetheless watch their native groups compete, whereas the strongest squads might qualify for broader continental levels. The mannequin, Antunes defined, aimed to steadiness regional pleasure with the enchantment of higher-stakes matches.

Some features labored as supposed. In response to Antunes, the construction did enhance competitiveness and engagement at sure factors within the season. Modifications throughout Cut up Two of 2025 additionally quickly elevated satisfaction by specializing in regional play. Nevertheless, the compressed schedule and twin layers of regional and continental competitors proved too complicated. 

“We ended up creating codecs that had been exhausting to observe,” mentioned Antunes.

In the long run, Riot decided that the structural flaws outweighed the advantages. Antunes admitted that followers missed the constant expertise of their authentic leagues, the place storylines and regional finals had been central.

“Regardless that some followers mentioned simply give us again the manufacturers, we knew what they had been lacking was longer regional splits, extra time to see their groups, a much less compressed schedule, and fewer interruption within the narrative,” he defined.

By Cut up Two, Riot Video games had begun to see that the issue went past branding. Antunes defined that whereas change usually takes time, the construction of the LTA product wouldn’t meet expectations rapidly sufficient. He famous that some followers had been happy with the stronger competitors between areas, however this got here at a structural price.

By mid-year, Riot concluded that rolling again to confirmed fashions was the one option to tackle fan issues.

Antunes emphasised that Riot stays dedicated to evolving the leagues, however not at the price of alienating the neighborhood. “If we agree that we went too far, we’ll transfer again and regulate,” he mentioned. 

This, he defined, is how Riot intends to keep up belief whereas persevering with to experiment with codecs sooner or later.

Whereas LCS and CBLOL are returning as standalone leagues, Riot Video games has determined to not revive Liga Latinoamérica (LLA) in its earlier kind, elevating issues about the way forward for that area. Nevertheless, in line with Antunes, the Latin American groups themselves have given Riot “overwhelmingly constructive” suggestions on the adjustments coming in 2026.

“Groups see these adjustments as a significant step towards addressing fan issues and higher at assembly neighborhood expectations,” mentioned Antunes, sharing how LLA groups have reaffirmed their dedication to partnering with Riot.

He defined that as a substitute of sustaining a separate league construction, Riot will concentrate on strengthening Latin America’s function inside a unified system. In response to the Rioter, LLA groups see this evolution as a chance to “strengthen their presence,” unify manufacturers throughout areas, and guarantee extra constant worldwide publicity for gamers. 

“The outlook has been constantly optimistic and forward-looking, with everybody aligned on delivering a richer and extra rewarding expertise for followers,” Antunes concluded.

With the return of unbiased leagues, worldwide qualification will revert to the system in place earlier than the LTA.

LCS will qualify one group for First Stand, two for MSI, and three for Worlds, whereas CBLOL will qualify one group for every occasion.

Antunes mentioned this was a deliberate option to reconnect with previous constructions moderately than reassign slots primarily based on efficiency. 

“As we roll again the leagues, we’re going to be reconnecting to what followers had and carry on rising from that,” he defined. In 2024, LCS traditionally had one, two, and three slots throughout worldwide occasions, whereas CBLOL had one — and Riot needed to return to that baseline.

Nevertheless, it could possibly be argued that South American groups’ current performances at worldwide occasions warranted extra alternatives on the worldwide stage. 

However Antunes acknowledged that regional priorities differ, and for South America, the main target will likely be on creating extra structured connections to the worldwide stage.

“Engaged on the trail from South America into worldwide occasions is a precedence for us,” he commented. 

“Creating extra cross-regional occasions outdoors the regional calendar can be a precedence”

Again in June 2025, Antunes gave an interview to Esports Insider the place he mentioned, “we’re not right here to debate whether or not the rebrand has failed or not.”

Many followers interpreted this as dismissive of their issues, sparking additional backlash in opposition to the LTA. Antunes now says he ought to have used totally different phrases. He clarified that his intention was to not defend the LTA branding however to stress that the true drawback went deeper. 

“I actually assume I ought to have used totally different phrases. The thought is that whatever the model LTA, even when individuals preferred the model LTA, the truth that we had been seeing the breaking of individuals’s identification with the league and their connection, that was an issue that we needed to repair,” he defined.

Riot Video games’ Head of Esports for the Americas additionally argued that conserving the LCS and CBLOL names underneath the LTA construction wouldn’t have solved the problem, as a result of it was the general fan expertise that had damaged down. 

“It was by no means simply concerning the title, it was one thing else — the larger expertise of the league,” mentioned Antunes. 

He defined that even when followers accepted the LTA model, the underlying problem was the lack of emotional connection to the leagues themselves. Antunes admitted that the assertion might have come throughout as overlooking fan sentiment when, in actuality, it was the other. And that the followers’ suggestions satisfied Riot to behave. 

Whereas Tier 1 competitions are on the centre of Riot’s newest announcement, it might be disingenuous not to discuss the Tier 2 ecosystem within the Americas.

In contrast to Europe, the place competitions are geographically distributed, Antunes highlighted that Tier 2 within the Americas is extra concentrated geographically, that means groups, buyers, and followers overlap closely. This creates fewer alternatives for unbiased native ecosystems to develop.

Regardless of this, Riot has seen encouraging indicators. Many gamers who performed in Tier 1 in LTA North and South lately got here from Tier 2, together with two of the three groups that superior to the 2025 Americas Playoff. “We’re seeing actually proficient gamers benefiting from the construction of Tier 2 – Tier 1 partnerships and rising sooner, and that’s the place we wish to go,” mentioned Antunes.

He confirmed that adjustments are deliberate for 2026 to incentivise participation in Tier 2 competitions additional, however with prudence.

“We actually wish to make it not solely its personal factor; it has to make sense as a Tier 2, but additionally discover higher methods to attach it with Tier 1,” Antunes continued.

The aim is to create extra mobility, stability, and alternative for up-and-coming gamers throughout the Americas, to not copy the ecosystem in EMEA.

Antunes additional defined, nevertheless, that his group has been involved with EMEA groups to change concepts on how EMEA Regional Leagues strategy their competitions. The aim of those conversations is to attempt to assist strengthen the Americas’ Tier 2 and three scenes, speed up participant improvement, and assist the trail to professional. He shared that Riot can be reviewing academy group guidelines, competitors codecs, and calendar constructions to enhance general league stability and efficiency transferring ahead. 

Moreover, Riot Video games plans to develop Tier 2 with new cross-regional occasions. Initiatives like Americas Challenger, described by Antunes as “a Tier 2 MSI,” provided useful learnings. Nevertheless, the purpose is to make the Americas’ grassroot ecosystem “extra dynamic and extra oxygenated by means of the yr.”

The return of the LCS and CBLOL displays Riot’s acknowledgement that the LTA experiment didn’t protect what followers valued most. The brand new title, model, much less groups, compressed schedule, and sophisticated codecs disconnected audiences from their regional identities, which made these competitions a part of followers’ lives. 

Antunes was clear that Riot desires to evolve, however solely in a approach that respects the emotional core of regional fandoms. The rollback reveals a willingness to reverse course when adjustments go too far, even when it means admitting missteps.

For followers, the return of the LCS and CBLOL is greater than a reputation change. It’s a reaffirmation of their place on the coronary heart of League of Legends esports.