This article is part of our Beyond the Game series.
Over the last year, there has been tons of speculation over the possibility of franchising in the League of Legends Championship Series in North America and Europe. Some of that speculation came from some major outlets just last week. While the franchising system likely won't come to those major leagues until the 2018 season at the earliest, one league has decided to pull the trigger on it, and it may not be the one you think.
Announced on Sunday, the League of Legends Pro League in China will be the first team to implement the system of franchising, and it's coming soon. In just a few short weeks when the LPL starts up again for the Summer Split, franchising will be a reality. So what is this going to look like? Let's dive in and see how it will all shake out.
The biggest change at the outset is the fact that relegation will no longer be in place. The two leagues that currently make up the secondary league system in China -- League of Legends Secondary Pro League and Tencent Games Arena -- will now combine to form a development league. No specific details have been given on what this development league will look like or how they will relate to the main league. If we look at other major sports like the NBA, NHL and MLB, though, we can form some educated guesses on how this would operate.
In these major professional leagues, the development leagues are essentially a farm system for the teams in the main leagues. Each team in the league has a counterpart in the minor league respective to that sport and uses it to develop talent that could someday make its way to the main team. If the Anaheim Ducks lose a forward to injury or if someone is underperforming, they can call up a player from the secondary league to fill that spot. It makes the most sense that this will be how it works in League of Legends, too. Especially when you think about the fact that so many teams in the secondary leagues, especially in the EU and NA regions, are sister teams of the teams in the main leagues. This enables the teams to grow their own talent and gives extra stability in the event of injury or subpar play.
In addition to the elimination of the relegation system, the LPL will be making the teams city-based to create home and away games and give it an atmosphere very similar to what is seen in almost every other professional sport. Whether this means that name changes are in order to give the teams a proper franchising remains to be seen. While this will no doubt give the fans in China a real stake in their team affiliations, there is already concern about what this could do for English viewing audiences.
In an interview with theScore Esports, LPL caster Zack "Rusty" Pye said that he actually worries "for [his] personal broadcast stability and generally stability of the [English] stream," but was nonetheless excited to see how this will all play out. His concerns do seem valid enough considering that the English casters usually are a small group that use the facilities in place for leagues in China and Korea. If there is more movement between cities in this new model, things may be a bit tricky for casters. Still, it's great for the fans in these cities.
The final question mark in terms of franchising, is how many teams will be in the league and whether the current crop of teams will be guaranteed a spot. According to the LPL's announcement, all 12 teams that currently make up the league will still have their spot once the Summer Split starts up. Moving forward, the slate of teams will expand to 14 in 2018 and then to 20 in the years beyond that.
The fact that all the current teams will be keeping their spots is good news on the outset, especially when you consider that the same is reportedly not guaranteed when franchising comes to the NA LCS next year. Expanding the number of teams in the future is also a great idea. More teams means more chances for competitive play and more parity in these leagues. Frequently in professional League of Legends, there are simply good teams and bad teams. Adding more teams to the mix opens the possibility for there to be a real mid tier, and that's never a bad thing.
Overall, franchising is a great move all around because of the stability that it brings to the leagues. The system of relegation has increasingly become an archaic one that is harming the game. It's hard to bring in potential investors and sponsors when there is a possibility that in a few months, the team they invested in may be forced to a lower league that gets very little attention. This way, if a team is in the main league, it will stay there. This not only gives the players peace of mind when playing, but it opens the potential to grow the league as a whole.
Now that the LPL has taken the plunge, the EU and NA LCS now have a blueprint with which to work when implementing this system in their leagues. The relegation and development league pieces should definitely be brought over, as they will give the leagues that increasingly stability that is desperately needed. Stability means longevity, and that is needed to keep the LCS alive and kicking for years to come.
The bottom line is that professional League of Legends scene is definitely moving in the right direction with any talk of franchising. The fact that it is now a reality means that with esports still in its infancy, this sport will be well on its way to solidifying its baseline of success once the esports cascade finally reaches its crescendo.
