Riot unveils League of Legends Championship of the Americas

It's been no secret that the League of Legends Championship Series, the North American competitive side of LoL esports, has faced its challenges as of late. This season we even saw only eight teams in attendance, as two decided to depart and Riot Games was seemingly unable to replace them before the season began. Needless to say, the jumping ship effect that has been happening has caused Riot to take major action, and this has culminated in a new system altogether.

It's known as the League of Legends Championship of the Americas (LTA), and it's a revamped effort that will now include North America, Latin America, and South America as a united unit. The LTA will have two conferences, the LTA North and the LTA South, with each conference featuring eight teams. As per who they are, you can see that below.

LTA North:

• Cloud9


• Team Liquid Honda


• FlyQuest


• Shopify Rebellion


• Dignitas


• 100 Thieves


• Lyon Gaming


• Disguised

LTA South:

• Fluxo


• Furia


• Loud


• Pain Gaming


• Red Canids Kalunga


• Vivo Keyd Stars


• Levitan


• Isurus

With this new setup, we can also expect a new format. Each of the conferences will compete in three unique splits throughout the year, with live audiences in attendance where possible. The first split will use a Fearless Draft, with the second trending toward a double round-robin, best-of-one setup, and the third using a never-before-seen Pick & Play system that will see teams selecting their next opponent on a weekly basis. As for where action will be held, the LTA North will be based in Los Angeles whereas the LTA South will call Sao Paulo home.

As per premier tournaments, the Americas Regional Championship will see the best teams from both conferences battling it out for Worlds spots. The top seeded teams from each conference will also directly punch their tickets to Worlds, and as for the events in between we're told that each split will have a playoff tournament that will rotate between conferences, with Split 1's held in Brazil.

As for when the LTA will start, January 25 is the date to circle on your calendar.