LEC teams vote to end compulsory fielding of academy teams

Owners of the organizations which make up the League of Legends European Championship, have voted to remove the rule requiring them to run an academy team, according to a report in Dot Esports.

Nine out of ten voters were in favour of removing the rule, with Rogue being the one voting against. As of now, all teams are required to have a second League of Legends squad, which takes part in the European Regional League (ERL) system. 

This change will come into force in 2022. Although, it’s worth noting that most professional LEC teams are aiming to keep their academy team, as the source says. 

What’s more, this isn’t the only modification that the structure will go through. The franchises are also planning to set a limit of two LEC academy teams for each of the regional leagues. However, this doesn’t seem as important, as there isn’t any regional competition as of now that exceeds it.

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The news comes amidst the European Masters Spring 2021 event, the culmination of the first half of the season for ERL teams.

It’s worth adding, that such change doesn’t have to be damaging for the league's ecosystem in Europe and most probably won’t be. Some teams from the ERL have burgeoning fanbases and should be able to stand on their own.

What’s more, it will allow LEC teams to decide on their own, whether having an academy squad is worth the time, effort, or money.