We could be looking at some new pro teams very shortly on the League of Legends pro circuit. According to a new post on the Riot Games eSports page, teams will have the opportunity to rise through the ranks and compete in the LCS.
From Ladder to LCS
A team can qualify by climbing to the top of the Ranked 5v5 Teams ladder and making it through the online tournament. The four semifinalist teams in North America will be flown to PAX Prime in Seattle, while the European top four will be sent to Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. These qualifying teams will all compete in front of a live audience for one spot (per region) in next season’s NA and EU Spring Promotion Tournaments.
This is a great opportunity for aspiring pro-players to get noticed and take off running. The League of Legends eSports scene is particularly volatile. There are a few mainstay teams like Team Solo Mid and Curse but some teams will bust onto the scene only to vanish soon after, like the recent and controversial Team Siren. (Read our write up about Team Siren HERE.)
Qualifying
To qualify, a team must make it to one of the top 16 eligible slots on the Ranked 5v5 ladder by July 26th at 12:00 PM PDT in NA or 12:00 CEST in EUW and EUNE. The online tournament will be streamed live on August 3rd and 4th, leading up to Gamescom from August 21-25 and PAX from August 30-September 1.
If you can’t wait for that LoL goodness, be sure to catch MLG Anaheim from June 28-30 to find out which Challenger team will win the first spot in the Spring Promotion Tournament for North America.
