League of Legends EMEA Championship Betting Tips & Live Streams
About League of Legends EMEA Championship
To qualify for the League of Legends World Championships, teams must perform in their regional qualifiers and one such qualifier is the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC).
The LEC was exclusively a European regional qualifier for the longest time, but that’s no longer the case. The LEC now covers the European, African, and Middle Eastern region.
The LEC has also been rebranded several times – it was called the European League of Legends Championship Series (EU LCS) from 2013-2018 before changing to the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) from 2019-2022 and settling into the League of Legends EMEA Championship recently.
Like most LoL regional qualifiers, the tournament is contested by 10 teams. When it was a European regional qualifier, there were only two splits: Spring and Summer. It now has three splits: Winter, Spring, and Summer.
The European LOL esports scene was organized by third parties in the initial years – there were tournaments like the Intel Extreme Masters at the time before Riot Games launched the LCS in 2012.
The LCS included just eight teams, with the top three LCS teams qualifying automatically for the Worlds and the rest having to play another qualifier.
In 2014, the LCS expanded to include two more teams and added the concept of Championship points, which rewarded teams for their performances in the splits and the playoffs.
Teams like Fnatic and G2 Esports have been dominating the LEC scene right from the start. In fact, Fnatic won the first three splits in the competition’s history. In recent years, teams like MAD Lions and Rogue have provided stiff competition.
In 2019, the LCS rebranded itself as the LEC. The tournament started to follow the franchise model - the relegation and promotion format was scrapped. The second division tournament, EU Challenger Series (EUCS), was also discontinued and made way for the European Masters.
A partnership with the Saudi Arabian city of Neom was proposed in 2020 but was quickly discarded following community backlash. In 2023, the Turkish, CIS, and MENA regions merged with the LEC to form the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC).
Where to bet on League of Legends (LEC)
Betting on eSports is big business now and the world's biggest bookmakers all offer tournament, pre-match and in-play betting on League of Legends LEC.
You can see the best betting sites for eSports in your region or choose to bet with this month's top five ranked sites.
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League of Legends LEC Live Streaming - Where To Watch
LEC matches can be viewed on the LoL Twitch Channel, LoL esports page, YouTube, and Instagram. The matches are broadcasted in English.
Fans can interact with each other on Twitch. The LoL esports page secures Hextech chests and keys that can be used to interact with the client. YouTube and Instagram occasionally live stream some of the big LEC matches. Some streams are also available on betting sites.
Some of the best ways to watch LEC live streams are:
- Betting Sites bet365, Stake and Pinnacle
- LoL Twitch Channel
LEC Format
Most regional LOL esports competitions follow the same format. The LEC used to be split into two seasons: Spring and Summer, but now has three splits: Winter, Spring, and Summer. The tournament was contested by just eight teams prior to 2014 but expanded to include 10.
All seasons have a regular season and playoffs – similar to most American sports leagues. The regular season lasts three weeks, and teams contest each other once in a single round-robin format.
The top eight teams qualify for a double-elimination group stage, and the top two sides from this stage compete in a four-team double-elimination playoff bracket. As mentioned earlier, there’s a points system that determines the seeding for the finals.
The finals are contested by the three split winners and the teams who accumulated lots of championship points. The final is a double-elimination bracket where the top four seeds qualify for the upper bracket.
Stage 1 matches are best-of-one, stage 2 are best-of-three, and stage 3 are best-of-five. This rigorous qualification process ensures that the team that comes out on top is undoubtedly the best in the region.
The winter and spring split winners automatically qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational, and the top four sides automatically qualify for the Worlds. This format ensures that the audience is tuned in from the start.
League of Legends LEC Prize Money
LEC Winter and Summer seasons offer a total prize pool of €80,000. The prize money is distributed among teams as follows:
- First place: €40,000
- Second place: €25,000
- Third place: €10,000
- Fourth place: €5,000
The LEC Summer and Winter season offers the same prize pool.
The LEC is one of the most competitive regional LoL tournaments, which is why the prize pool is greater than some of the other regional tournaments. This was the case even before it rebranded to include the Turkish, CIS, and MENA regions.
LEC Teams and Players
G2 Esports were the winners in the 2022 Winter season. They were followed by MAD Lions. KOI came in third place, and SK Gaming finished in fourth place. Team Vitality followed them in fifth place, Astralis in sixth, Team BDS in seventh, Team Heretics in eighth, Fnatic in ninth, and Excel Esports in tenth.
G2 Esports have won more splits than any other team in the LEC. They’re 10-time champions and two-time runners-up.
They’re also home to the greatest LEC player of all time: Martin Larsson, aka Rekkles. The Swedish bot laner is the first player to reach 1,000 kills in the EU LCS and the first player to reach 1,500 kills in the LEC.
Fnatic have been going through a bit of a decline but were the masters of the LEC in the early years – they’re seven-time split winners and won the first three LEC splits. Their last split win was the 2018 Summer split.
MAD Lions have come up in recent years – they won the 2021 Summer and Spring splits and finished runners-up in the 2022 Winter split. Alliance and Rogue are the only other teams to have won a split – they’ve won one split each.
League of Legends EMEA Championship FAQs
What is League of Legends LEC?
League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) is a regional competition in League of Legends. The LEC was exclusively a European regional qualifier for the longest time, but that’s no longer the case. The LEC now covers the European, African, and Middle Eastern region.
How can I watch League of Legends EMEA Championships Live Streaming?
Check our live streaming calendar to see where you can watch League of Legends live streaming.
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