Although most eyes have been placed on the LCS, North America’s tier-two League of Legends circuit has helped foster and build some of the most-talented players in the league’s history. Superstars like Mingyi “Spica” Lu, Robert “Blaber” Huang, and Joseph “jojopyun” Pyun are all big names that have made the climb from the Academy and amateur scenes into the big show.
But on Friday, May 12, Riot Games made the controversial decision to make Academy teams optional for LCS organizations, causing a huge stir among those fearing the death of the region’s path-to-pro.
Related: Liquid’s CEO offers solutions to save NA’s tier-2 LoL scene as more teams ditch Challengers League
Without the support of LCS teams, fans believe that there won’t be any incentives for players to want to enter the tier-two scene in the region. Some retired pros, like former 100 Thieves member Tenacity, have encouraged amateurs to move to Europe for a better chance at a career in the EMEA Regional Leagues.
In the meantime, LCS teams have already started pulling support and dropping their tier-two rosters. Here are all of the teams that have dropped their teams for the 2023 Summer Split and beyond.
Teams out of NA Challengers League
The following LCS organizations have been confirmed as orgs leaving the North American Challengers League, starting this coming Summer Split:
Teams continuing NACL support through 2023 Summer Split
On the other hand, here are all of the LCS organizations that will be continuing to field a Challengers League roster for at least the 2023 Summer Split. It isn’t guaranteed that these teams will continue to field a roster into 2024, but fans can still catch their tier-two lineups in action from this point until the end of the year.
