What started as an outbreak in Wuhan and the delay of the LPL in China led to a plethora of canceled and reformatted events around the globe. The Coronavirus outbreak has affected many aspects of esports, here is the list so far:
This year, one org from each region really stood out as a shining star, breaking their previous ceiling and perception, and rewriting their own narrative. Here are the most improved teams across 2020:
Roughly a week before the LCS 2021 Lock-In, Counter Logic Gaming had multiple members on its professional League team catch COVID. CLG is also experiencing visa slowdowns. They've signed two temporary subs, here is their new roster:
Riot is thrilled to confirm that leading gaming PC and accessories brand Alienware returns again as the official PC and Monitor partner for the LEC 2021 season, providing the league with some of the finest gaming hardware available. Read more on their partnership here:
Just after the dawn of the new year, VALORANT has released yet another agent, bringing Yoru to the game as the 14th playable character in the five vs five tactical shooter. Read more about Yoru's abilities and gameplay here:
One week before the official start of the 2021 NA season, Riot announced the groups for the LCS Lock In, the tournament that will kick off the season on Friday, Jan 15. Check the groups and read more about the lock in here:
UPDATE 1/5: After finalizing its LCS and amateur rosters, Evil Geniuses has finalized its roster for EG Academy.
Following suit with the other major competitive regions, the League Championship Series has launched a rebrand headed into 2021, featuring a new LCS logo, color scheme, and identity. Read more about their rebrand here:
It's just a few days before the official start of Season 11 and Riot Games developer, Mark Yetter, has released the first patch preview of the year, featuring buffs to underperformers and nerfs to the previous patch's leaders. Read more on the context and changes of the new season here:
After another 3-3 finish at Worlds, Team Liquid and Jensen returned home looking to rebuild for the next year. Jensen re-signed with the team, finding himself as one of the two longest-standing members going into 2021. Here's what he hopes to accomplish this year:
Riot Games VP of IP & Entertainment Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street has confirmed the development of a Riot Games MMO in response to a tweet announcing his most recent job responsibility.
Just two months after Riot Games Sydney closed the Oceanic Pro League, ESL Australia has announced they will be hosting a professional League of Legends scene in Oceania together in partnership with Guinevere Capital. read more on their deal here:
Team Liquid had an interesting 2020, ending in yet another 3-3 run at Worlds. The team kept most of their roster, but they're making two key changes this off-season. Here is the official confirmed 2021 Liquid roster:
With Riot's upcoming charity fundraiser League of Legends skin, Elderwood Ornn, we thought it would be a good time to highlight and reflect on some of the amazing impact and support from the League community during such an unusual year. See how Riot and the community impacted the world here:
UPDATE 11/30: TSM has confirmed its signing of Huni, which was reported to be complete by Esportmaniacos' Pablo "Bloop" Suárez shortly before the confirmation. TSM is reportedly promoting Academy Lost, which would complete the roster.
Insanity is the sole returning player for the 2021 Immortals roster, with the other four from 2020 not finding themselves on a starting LCS roster. Though Immortals had a rocky 2020, Insanity is excited and confident for the new year. Read and watch the interview here:
Despite claiming they'd keep their roster together, Cloud9 has made a couple of changes, including promoting Fudge and Reignover. They've also been rumored to sign Perkz. Here is the current roster rumored for Cloud9:
UPDATE 12/2: FlyQuest has announced the signing of top laner Colin "Kumo" Zhao. Kumo, who split time in 2020 between Evil Geniuses and EG Academy, will be the starting top laner for FLY Academy heading into 2021.
It's no secret that the League Championship Series production wasn't up to par this Summer Split, or really, the entirety of the 2020 season. Take a deeper look into how they failed and what they need to focus on for 2021 here:
About a month after Bjergsen announced his retirement from professional League of Legends, Doublelift announced his own retirement as well. Read more about his career and retirement here:
