The first five EU LCS franchises have been revealed
The first teams to be accepted by Riot into the franchised EU LCS have been revealed.
Beginning operation in early 2013, the European League Championship Series has been one of the four major regions of professional League of Legends play, along with the North American League Championship Series, League of Legends Champions Korea, and League of Legends Pro League in China.
Calls for franchising of the EU LCS came in mid-2017 when both H2K Gaming and Unicorns of Love penned open letters that expressed concern over the lack of financial stability within the region.
When the NA LCS became one of the first major regions, along with China, to adopt the franchise model, it wasn’t long before G2 Esports, Fnatic, Misfits, and Splyce — all teams competing in the EU LCS — applied for, and were subsequently denied, franchise slots in the NA LCS.
The European organizations calls for action were finally answered when Riot announced that it would move forward with a franchise model for the EU LCS that will include revenue sharing between the teams and the league.
It has now been revealed by ESPN’s Jacob Wolf that G2 Esports, Fnatic, Misfits, Schalke 04 Esports, and Team Vitality have all been accepted into the franchised league set to begin in 2019. Splyce and H2K Gaming, meanwhile, had their applications denied.
The team accepted into the league will now pay Riot eight million euros ($9.26 million) over a multi-year period for their slots in the league. Along with the franchise spot, the teams are entitled to 32.5% of the revenue pool that includes league and team sponsorships, region-specific broadcastings rights deals, among other sources of revenue.
Much like the franchised NA LCS, a total of 10 teams will be selected as part of the 2019 EU LCS, with the other five to be revealed in the coming weeks.