The League of Legends European Championship will have its own Twitch channel this year, instead of having Riot Games, the developers of League, host games on its streaming channels for 2020.
Riot shoutcaster Trevor “Quickshot” Henry said earlier today that the LEC Twitch channel will be the “new home” of the broadcast. It will still be hosted by Riot, though, rather than operating independently.
This announcement comes just one day before the 2020 LEC Spring Split is set to get underway. Tomorrow, G2, the reigning champions, will face off against MAD Lions, while rivals Fnatic play against Origen in their first match of the new season.
It’s unclear whether the LCS will meet the same fate, however. Considering the league begins in two days, it seems unlikely. The LCS does have its own Twitch channel, which is more popular than the LEC’s, so it could still remain a possibility.
While this change has just come into effect, some fans are criticizing the decision as “breaking up” the fan base between the LEC and the LCS. But others have argued that Riot has understood that the LEC and LCS have different viewers, rather than the same viewers watching both.
It’s unclear whether this will have a positive impact on viewership considering the LEC Twitch channel has 426,156 followers while Riot’s Twitch channel has 4,393,708, according to TwitchTracker.
The 2020 LEC season is set to begin tomorrow. Fans can watch all the action on the LEC’s official Twitch channel.
