European powerhouse team Los Ratones (LR) is considering skipping the upcoming EMEA Masters Summer Finals due to scheduling conflicts with the 2025 League of Legends World Championship. The team, which has already claimed two EMEA Masters titles this year, sees little benefit in pursuing a third victory when the tournament’s schedule overlaps with one of the biggest events in League of Legends.
The EMEA Masters Summer Finals are scheduled to take place during Paris Games Week, a major gaming expo, but the timing puts the event up against the World Championship semifinals. This scheduling decision has got people in the competitive scene talking, with many wondering why a premier Tier 2 tournament would be held at the same time as the global spotlight of Worlds.
“With nothing left to prove at this level,” appears to be the sentiment within Los Ratones, a team founded by former LEC player and well-known broadcaster Marc “Caedrel” Lamont. The roster features notable names like Rekkles, Odoamne, Nemesis, Crownshot, and Velja, all players with significant LEC experience and established fanbases.
Instead of competing at EMEA Masters, LR is looking at the idea of a bootcamp in Korea during Worlds. This would let the team practice against top-notch opponents in Korean solo queue while also cranking out some great content for their fans. For a team with strong roots in streaming and content creation, this plan could be more worthwhile than chasing another regional trophy.
The situation brings up a big issue with how League of Legends‘ competitive scene is set up. Since the LEC switched to franchising, teams in Tier 2 competitions like EMEA Masters have hit a “glass ceiling” with no direct shot at promotion just by winning. Because of this, teams like Los Ratones are putting even more energy into content creation alongside competitive play.
For tournament organizers, LR possibly not showing up is a real problem when it comes to viewership. The team’s popularity pulls in big audience numbers, and if they drop out, the tournament could see a huge drop in reach and relevance, especially when going head-to-head with Worlds for viewers.
In previous years, EMEA Masters finals were carefully set up to happen alongside LEC finals or at times that didn’t clash with major international events. This year’s scheduling is a big change from that, leaving one of the region’s biggest teams stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The content creation conundrum
For Caedrel and his team, the financial math is simple. Playing in EMEA Masters doesn’t bring in much money compared to what they could make creating content and streaming during Worlds. As one of the most-watched English-speaking personalities in the scene, Caedrel’s co-streams during big events often pull more viewers than some official broadcasts.
While nothing is set in stone yet, the team thinking about skipping the finals shows how esports is changing, with competitive achievements getting mixed up more and more with content creating and growing your brand.
