The two LCS teams not making the jump into Riot Games’ bold new unified League of Legends Americas competition have reportedly been locked in, with Immortals and NRG expected to be the North American organizations making way.
While Immortals is no great surprise considering the IGC-owned team has had a languid time in the League competition since rejoining in 2019, the fact NRG are the other NA org walking away from the new league is a little more shocking. Not only did the organization only acquire the Counter Logic Gaming division (and therefore LCS slot) in 2023, but word behind the scenes has pointed to Nadeshot’s 100 Thieves being on the chopping block.
This report, which was first shared by Travis Gafford on Sept. 10, also seemingly confirms the six LCS teams that will be joining the Americas competition: Cloud9, Dignitas, and Shopify Rebellion, as well as 2024 World Championship representatives Team Liquid and 100 Thieves, and newly-crowned NA champions FlyQuest.
This doesn’t mean they’ll all make it to the 2025 Americas League, however. With 100 Thieves still continuing to look at restructures, there’s every chance the Los Angeles-based entertainment company may put its League slot on the table for sale.
As far as Dot Esports has heard, the rest of the orgs should be locked in though, with C9, FlyQuest, Liquid, and Shopify Rebellion already privately embracing the new setup.
Nearly immediately after Gafford’s report named NRG and Immortals, the League world latched onto the most surprising of the two teams: NRG. Many across Reddit and other social media platforms expressed their surprise that the org would buy CLG’s slot, build a championship-winning roster, record an incredible result for NA at Worlds (with their run in 2023), then pack it all in within 18 months and walk away from the Riot-run esport ahead of changes. “They basically did nothing,” one LCS fan wrote in response to Gafford’s report. “Legit nothing… they just bought the CLG team and let it run itself then bailed. What a joke org.”
Others said they were shocked (and a little disappointed) that Dignitas would be retaining a League spot heading into the Americas unification, though DIG’s expected retention makes sense financially; the 20-year-old org is owned by Harris Blitzer Sports. The Harris Blitzer venture company also owns the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA, the New Jersey Devils (NHL), and controls a minority stake in the NASCAR team Joe Gibbs Racing.
There was also never really any doubt stalwart teams like Liquid, C9, and FlyQuest would walk away from Riot’s MOBA esport, though long-time fans of those teams and most involved in the LA-based comp would still be breathing a sigh of relief today.
That said, nothing is set in stone behind the scenes yet. Until Riot formally announces the 2025 participants, sales and shuffles could still happen in the American scene.
