LCO loses Worlds and MSI spot and the region will compete with the best in the PCS to determine international event spots.
Riot has announced the expansion of the League of Legends Pacific Championship Series (PCS) ecosystem for 2023 and beyond. The PCS region will include the League of Legends Circuit Oceania (LCO) teams and players. This change comes just after several additions and restructure to the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) and the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
Riot LCO in 2023
While the LCO is now part of the PCS region, it will continue to play its domestic season in Oceania, according to Riot. The big change here is that they will no longer have a direct slot for the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) as well as Worlds. Rather, the top two teams in the LCO after each split will compete in the PCS playoffs with qualified PCS teams for international events spots.
The addition of the LCO in the PCS playoffs will lead to a more competitive season for both regions. However, it means that the LCO loses its one guaranteed spot for international events. The LCO has struggled in recent international events, and the decision by Riot comes as no surprise. While Oceania's Pentanent.GG performed well at the MSI 2021, 2022 was a bad time for the region both at MSI and Worlds.
Furthermore, Oceania players who have already signed contracts or are going to sign before the need of 2022 for the League Championship Series (LCS) or Academy teams have the chance to declare themselves as a resident of either the LCS or PCS. The opportunity of declaring residency for either regions will not be available in the future as Riot terms it "a one-time option."
This is a one-time option to minimize any disruption that these changes to the import rules may cause for players and teams. Going forward, OCE players will be considered exclusively PCS residents.
This means that from 2023 onwards, Oceania players will become exclusively PCS residents and will not be considered import players in the region. It also means that the LCO teams can sign PCS players if they want and those PCS players will not be imports in Oceania.
Additionally, players who have the option to declare for LCS residency and chose not to will become imports in North America (NA).
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