Relegation rule removed from China’s LPL League of Legends league

Chinese League of Legends league is the first in the world to get rid of the relegation law, preserving the teams chances permanently.

The announcement was reported last night and the process will begin almost immediately, from the 2017 Summer Split onwards. Teams qualified for the Summer Split will all be guaranteed franchise spots, with relegation now abolished. The league will then be expanded to 14 teams in 2018, with a view to including 20 teams in the future.

The news will be an incredible to some newly promoted sides like DAN Gaming, and a huge let down to the recently relegated Vici Gaming and Game Talents. Those two teams will potentially go down in history as the last two teams to be relegated from the LPL.

A report earlier this month claimed that franchising may finally come to the NA LCS next year about lengthy speculation. Riot Games have as yet given no clear response to the report. Instead Riot points to this post from last year where they discuss wanting to give teams “a permanent stake” in a “stable future”.