Look Sports Media – The competitive landscape of League of Legends esports is set for a seismic shift in 2026, as Riot Games has announced the discontinuation of direct prize pools for its premier regional tournaments across major territories. This radical restructuring, revealed following a recent developer blog, impacts prestigious leagues such as Europe, Middle East & Africa’s LEC, North America’s LCS, and South Korea’s LCK, with China’s LPL also potentially affected.
Instead of traditional cash rewards for top finishers, Riot Games states that the funds previously allocated to these prize pools will be strategically reinvested into other facets of the ecosystem, aiming to bolster the long-term viability and growth of the sport. The publisher frames this as a modernization of its financial framework, asserting that individual player payouts from regional prize money had become "comparatively small," despite the cumulative investment growing substantially. This reallocation, they claim, will enable a more effective and strategic deployment of resources to support the competitive environment’s future development.
This significant policy change, however, does not extend universally. Brazil’s CBLOL and the Asia-Pacific’s LCP will retain their prize pools, a decision attributed to their distinct partnership models. Furthermore, the pinnacle of international League of Legends competition – events like First Stand, the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), and the World Championship – will continue to distribute winnings derived from the Global Revenue Pool (GRP), an initiative established in 2024 to centralize digital esports revenue.
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The announcement has ignited a fervent debate within the community and among team organizations. A prominent voice in this discussion is Arnold Hur, CEO of the formidable LCK powerhouse Gen.G. Taking to social media, Hur expressed his disappointment, lamenting the removal of prize money from the LCK. He articulated a critical perspective on the evolving financial pressures within esports, suggesting that as publishers strive for profitability, some will prioritize cost-cutting measures while others focus on generating new revenue streams. "Teams will live or die by whether they can predict which cycle they are in," Hur remarked, highlighting the precarious position organizations face.
Gen.G, a multiple LCK champion and two-time MSI victor, has consistently been a top contender, underscoring the weight of Hur’s critique. While acknowledging Riot’s commendable efforts towards sustainability, such as the League’s financial regulations (SFR), Hur also indicated that the "needed radical change brings understandably too much risk for a publisher." He concluded with a poignant observation about team sentiment: "At this point, most teams have given up asking for more. All we want is more freedom to monetize."
This shift comes at a sensitive time for the League of Legends esports scene, which recently saw the storied Chinese organization Royal Never Give Up (RNG) withdraw from the esport amidst financial and legal difficulties. The decision to eliminate regional prize pools raises fundamental questions about player motivation and competitive integrity. As one fan, @masajade, pondered online, "what’s the point of competing with no prize money?? the title is nice but most orgs are motivated by the prize money no? so taking that away will just makes things less competitive imo."
Riot Games asserts this move reflects their "confidence in the maturity of the global ecosystem" and a "commitment to evolving the way we invest in the sport." Yet, for many, the immediate impact on regional competition and the financial health of participating teams remains a significant concern, casting a shadow of uncertainty over the future trajectory of League of Legends esports at its foundational level.
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