The League of Legends competitive scene is gearing up for the 2024 season, and today, Riot Games confirmed the EMEA Masters Summer Finals will be part of the LEC season roadshow in Munich. In addition, all EMEA League esports live events for the year will be centralized in Germany.
In 2023, Riot broke new ground by hosting the EMEA Masters Summer Finals at the LEC roadshow in Montpellier, extending the season finals to three days instead of the usual two. Maximilian Peter Schmidt, director of League esports in EMEA, pointed to the team’s wish to “level up the experience for players and fans” as a reason for that change.
The success seen in Montpellier paved the way for Riot to repeat the experience in 2024, Schmidt said in a recent roundtable behind closed doors, with the finals set to take place in Munich. Artem Bykov, the LEC commissioner, echoed the excitement for the season, emphasizing the league’s commitment to raising the bar in terms of competition quality—an objective also linked to the other changes coming to the EMEA league in 2024.
Bykov confirmed the league is committed to running “only one live in-arena competition next year,” which will be the season finals in Munich. Riot’s decision to concentrate all live events for the 2024 LEC and EMEA season in Germany underlines the company’s commitment to providing a consistent experience for fans and players alike considering the extensive investments in revamping the Berlin Arena.
But EMEA fans cover a much bigger area, and it wouldn’t be surprising to hear disheartened voices arising from the community following the reveal of the 2024 roadmap for live League events.
The success of the 2023 Summer Finals weekend in Montpellier has paved the way for a new era of League esports in the EMEA region, with Munich poised to become the epicenter of the action across the next 12 months. But many fans’ eyes will likely be set on the following season, hoping to see their favorite esports event live in their own city.