How franchising in North America might affect Europe

ESPN has reported that four teams have applied to the NA LCS in wake of franchising next year. Not just four average teams either. Four major esports organizations from the EU LCS in Fnatic, Misfits, G2 and Splyce. It seems that with franchising coming to North America next year, it would be a safer investment than staying in the EU LCS.

Franchising opens up the ability for investors to have a safer investment with no risk of teams being relegated. Teams will also have a lot more money to pay players than their European counterparts. This could lead to less investors heading to Europe with more money going into the NA LCS.

More Players Leaving Europe?

Photo via Riot Esports

It’s no secret that Europe has produced some very talented players that have come to the NA LCS. Names like Bjergsen, Jensen and Froggen come to mind. With more money coming to North America, could we see a migration of Europeans/Koreans to North America?

Some say money can’t buy everything. But with players typically having short career spans, wouldn’t you want to at least go where your money will be the greatest? Europe has somewhat been known for having less money than North American competitors. With franchising looming next split, could we see even more European stars head to North America in chase of higher pay?

The EULCS would inevitably become weaker if they can’t compete with the money that North American teams can offer. Even European teams have applied to franchise in North America. This would force teams to have to drop over half their roster to satisfy the import rules. This leads into the next topic of combining NA and EU LCS.

One Western League?

Instead of implementing the import rule for EU LCS teams coming over, could Riot think to combine both regions altogether? While it’s highly unlikely, if Europe’s top organizations were to get accepted, it would leave a huge void in Europe for talent and org experience.

Many European fans have discussed their negativity towards franchising in Europe. If all the best teams are already looking towards NA for franchising, it may be better to follow suit. This whole year has almost proved that the EU LCS is a top heavy league.

The difference between the bottom four and top six teams is quite apparent, especially with the results at Rift Rivals. With more money heading to North America, the competition can only grow stronger.

Changing the Format

It’s no secret Europe has become victim to Riot’s LCS experiments. First with the best of 2’s last year and now with the divided groups. The two group format has made EU more dissatisfying to watch as you see a lot less of the top teams going head to head. The bottom teams in each conference are almost auto-wins for the rest as well.

Having only two full days of games compared to three in NA definitely hurts from a sponsorship standpoint. With franchising also coming, EU needs to go to all teams playing each other twice in a best of three. No more groups splitting the league either. It almost feels like it hurt them competitively as well. This was evident at Rift Rivals when Phoenix1 who finished last place this summer was able to handily defeat the top teams from Europe.

The format isn’t the only thing holding Europe back, but it’s definitely an issue. Riot needs to give EU a full three days of games and the same format as North America.

It will be interesting to see what exactly happens next year with franchising coming to North America. Many talented EU players may look to North America in search of the money. This could be detrimental to EU LCS as we move forward.

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Cover photo by Riot Esports