Cover-Credits:
In 2023, Riot Games expanded the scope of the LEC (League of Legends European Championship) esport ecosystem. As a result of this expansion, the LEC now includes countries from Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region, giving more players a platform to show their talent.
Likewise, in 2023 LEC also introduced a three-split competitive year divided into Winter, Spring, and Summer, each of them spanning six weeks. The last part of the competitive year cultimates in the LEC Season Finals.
Following up on these changes, Riot Games and LEC noted that they will be making some minor changes to the league in 2024 and that these changes are aimed at enhancing the competition further.
LEC Worlds Qualification & Championship Points in 2024
Riot Games revealed a few changes coming to the LEC, with the major focus on the qualification for Worlds. The changes at a glance are as follows:
LEC will merge the Group Stage and Playoffs for each split into a single bracket.
To better support the well-being of teams and players, LEC is extending the break between Winter and Spring Split, and also the break between Spring Split and MSI, by one week each.
Riot Games is also reducing the break between the Summer Split and the LEC Season Finals by one week.
The way Championship Points (CP) are given out is also changing in 2024. Riot Games said, "We’ll now allocate the same amount of points to our fifth and sixth, and seventh and eighth-place finishers for each split, while also raising the stakes and points on offer for each split."
Riot Games
Riot Games will now be allocating the same amount of points to the fifth and sixth, and seventh and eighth-place finishers for each split.
The emphasis will be on the Summer Split. The LEC Summer Champion will automatically qualify for Worlds as the lowest seed. Likewise, Summer's 2nd and 3rd-placed teams will also qualify for the LEC Season Finals regardless of their CP, or past results.
In the case that two teams end the year with the same amount of Championship Points before LEC Season Finals, the team with the higher number of CP in Summer Split will qualify. "If they had the same amount of Championship Points in Summer, their Summer Split Regular Season head-to-head record will decide who qualifies," said Riot.
Riot Games is also raising the minimum age for players competing in the LEC from 17 to 18 years.
Notably, the LEC Season 2024 is all set to kick off on 13th January 2024 with the Winter Split. Fans can watch the LEC 2024 Winter Split live on the official LEC channel on Twitch once the league kicks off. You can also check out the games as video on demand (VODs) on the LoL Esports VODs and Highlights channel.
