Riot Games Announces EMEA Women's League of Legends Competition
– 1 min read
League of Legends Game Changers: Riot Games' EMEA League of Legends Women's League will kick off in August with the LGC Rising opening tournament, marking a step forward in promoting opportunities for women in esports.
Riot Games has announced League of Legends Game Changers (LGC), a new competitive system for women in esports. LGC follows the Valorant Game Changers programme, which has been creating new opportunities and visibility for women and other marginalised genders in Valorant esports for four years during the ranked season. Building on the success of local initiatives such as the Equal Esports Cup (EEC) in Germany and Coupe des Étoiles (CdE) in France, Riot Games is expanding its support for women in esports. However, LGC is not intended to replace these initiatives, but rather to expand the existing competitive offering for League of Legends players.
LGC Rising is the first official LGC tournament. The tournament, along with the LGC as a whole, will prioritise organic and sustainable growth in the coming years. This will be supported and shaped by the community, LEC organisations, and Webedia's licensing partners.
LGC Rising is set to take place in August, with the exact dates to be announced at a later date. The first iteration of the tournament will largely be played online, but as the league grows, Riot Games intends to prioritise live events in the long term. This year's grand finale of LGC Rising will take place at Paris Games Week.
Riot Games explained how the teams are selected: "We're combining direct invitations with open competition. A total of three rosters already active in the space - particularly those affiliated with LEC organisations - will receive invitations. Additionally, the three finalists from the Equal Esports Cup (Germany) will be given slots based on their previous performances. To ensure broader accessibility and opportunity, we’ll also be hosting an Open Qualifier in August. This gives emerging teams a chance to prove themselves and join the main event."
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Written by
Marcel Kleffmann is Chief of Content of GamesMarket and our B2B and B2C expert for hardware, market data, products and launch numbers with more than two decades of editorial experience.
