It is an honor to host this press conference to introduce the new Asia-Pacific regional league and the cooperation between Riot and Carry International. I am permitted to discuss this news, and here is my summary of the event. The views are my own and do not represent Riot's position.
The following announcements were made:
1. The new Asia-Pacific regional league will launch at the beginning of 2025, joining the ranks of the five major regional leagues. This will be the highest level of competition in the region;
2. Taipei City, Taiwan, will serve as the league's main hub, where all teams will be stationed during the season. A large offline venue has been confirmed, allowing fans, teams, and live broadcasts to participate;
3. Carry International will be responsible for venue operations and all Chinese streaming broadcasts. Both parties signed a 2+1 year MOU contract at the press conference, marking Riot's commitment to the region.
4. The decision factors for the selected partner teams (4 teams) and guest teams (2 teams) will be based on competition results (The Asia-Pacific region will have eight teams, including four partner teams that are not subject to promotion and relegation. The other four teams will be guest teams subject to promotion and relegation mechanisms. The best-performing non-partner teams from the 2024 PCS Summer Split and the Vietnam VCS Summer Split will secure spots in the 2025 Asia-Pacific league. The other two guest teams will be invited by Riot to maintain league diversity.)
5. The Global Prize Pool (GRP) will debut in the Asia-Pacific region, with participating teams receiving a share of the prize pool based on competitive performance and fan engagement;
6. Current leagues such as PCS, LCO, LJL, and VCS will continue to operate but will become secondary leagues supporting the new Asia-Pacific league.
To briefly explain point 4, this seems fine, but the recent surge in viewership in the region has been driven by returning veteran players, such as SofM, who returned after many Vietnamese players were banned, or streamer/team owner AsiaGodTone. My interpretation here is that Riot will not use guest team spots purely for viewership but may give guest team spots to secondary leagues to maintain the interest of the general player base. This is a good sign that Riot will be more open to allowing popular events to run concurrently or directly with their league. For example, Carry International has already hosted the popular Asia Cup.
Several major issues were not addressed:
1. The regional distribution of Asia-Pacific league spots. Currently, PCS, LJL, VCS, and LCO have a total of 29 teams, which will be reduced to 8 participating in APAC. Regional distribution has not been announced. The community is concerned that this will be a league dominated by Taiwanese teams, as the local operating costs are evidently more competitive. If I had to guess, the most likely partner teams would be PSG, CFO, GAM, and DFM;
2. The subsidy amount from the GRP for teams, especially for teams relocating to Taipei. I have never heard of a team owner claiming to be profitable in this field. I also doubt that digital e-sports merchandise alone can save the e-sports market, as the aging audience may not even open the client. In my view, I hope Riot will open their IP for merchandise sales and use their physical venues for face-to-face sales.
For Taiwanese fans, this will be the fourth reorganization in their region (
GPL has fixed regional representatives between regions, with a huge competitive gap, stifling the momentum of Taiwan after TPA won the World Championship.
LMS could not maintain the competitiveness of a single region, and the best talents flowed to
PCS often feels like a scaled-down version of LMS at its peak, due to the slump and lack of international competition results in those years.
Given the lifecycle and history of LOL, I am glad that this Asia-Pacific league feels like a true evolution of the league.
My understanding is that Riot has given these regions great power to build this league, and put all the pieces together with a very high ceiling. From ensuring long-term local partners for Carry International, revitalizing the concept of physical e-sports cities, to being able to appoint guest teams to join the first division, and introducing GRP. We hope to form a virtuous cycle where teams are competitive, sustainable, and can stay connected with their fan base.
While there is a high ceiling, there are also obvious pitfalls that must be overcome. If two Vietnamese teams make it to the finals, how do you ensure a full stadium in Taipei? How do you prevent the league from regressing back to LMS? If Riot wants to retain previous team owners and their fan bases, then the secondary league needs more, not less, attention. Both the top and grassroots levels of the league face severe challenges, which will test Riot's planning for different situations.
In view of this, I believe a moderate goal for the new Asia-Pacific league is to see a significant increase in the consumption of e-sports audiences in Taipei, continued growth of Vietnamese audiences, and eventual profitability for partner teams.
I am cautiously optimistic about our new league and can't wait to watch the matches of each team live. I hope this summary gives everyone a good feeling about the birth of the fifth major region: the Asia-Pacific league (official name pending).
