Riot Games has restructured the LEC Winter Split into a 12-team cup tournament by adding two guest slots for non-franchised teams. The move has drawn immediate pushback from LEC partner organizations who paid eight-figure sums for their permanent league spots.
Multiple sources indicate that Los Ratones, the popular team owned by streamer Caedrel, is expected to claim one of the guest slots. The second spot will go to a team that qualifies through EMEA Masters or ERL results. Both guests would compete only in Winter before returning to their regional leagues.
The Winter competition serves as qualification for an early-season international tournament. Guest teams will not receive franchise status or long-term LEC membership after the split ends.
LEC franchising launched in 2019 with partner teams paying tens of millions of euros for permanent slots. Those fees guaranteed stability, revenue sharing, and protection from relegation. The minimum player salary in LEC is €60,000 per year.
The same applies to KOI, another organization that paid to convert regional success into an LEC spot. Both teams represent the exact scenario Riot is now offering to Los Ratones for free.
Franchised teams argue the guest system undermines the value proposition they purchased. They paid for exclusive access to Europe’s top-tier League of Legends competition. Adding non-paying teams challenges that exclusivity, even if temporarily.
The concern extends beyond money. Owners fear this sets a precedent for recurring guest access without compensation to existing partners. If Riot can unilaterally expand participation for Winter, what stops them from doing it again?
Riot tested a similar model in North America last year. After buying back slots from exiting LCS teams like Evil Geniuses and Golden Guardians, Riot introduced guest spots. Disguised competed as the first NA guest team in 2024.
The key difference matters. In NA, Riot repurposed vacated franchise slots. In EMEA, Riot is adding guests on top of all 10 existing partners without any teams having exited.
Revenue sharing for guest teams remains unclear. It’s unlikely Los Ratones or qualifying ERL teams would participate in the standard LEC revenue split, but Riot hasn’t confirmed the financial model.
Operational questions also linger. Do LEC minimum salaries apply to guest team players for Winter? How do age eligibility rules work when players compete in both LEC and their home ERL? What happens if an ERL team needs to pause domestic play to compete in Berlin?
The competitive outcomes could cut both ways. If guests struggle on stage, the experiment looks like a pure viewership play with no competitive merit. If they excel and challenge for international qualification, franchised teams face tougher questions about what their millions actually bought.
The franchise value debate
Supporters of the change argue that opening one split to regional champions creates a tangible reward for EMEA Masters competition. Critics counter that a single-split appearance isn’t real promotion and doesn’t provide sustainable Tier 1 access.
Winter traditionally draws the lowest viewership of LEC’s competitive calendar. Adding popular ERL brands like Los Ratones aims to boost engagement during the quiet season. Whether that translates to meaningful revenue for existing partners remains the central dispute.
