Is Riot Games really killing NA League of Legends with the LTA?

Riot Games shocked many of its long-time esports fans and followers when it rebranded the established LCS as the LTA, and with things on the decline for the region, many fans are now wondering whether Riot could actually be killing NA League through the LTA rebrand and refocus.

Competitive League of Legends is made up of various regions competing against each other for fame and money. While the LCK usually finds the most international success, other regions and their teams grow their personal fan bases by competing domestically, creating rivalries and storylines that keep fans invested despite lower odds of winning the next World Championship trophy.

Riot Games shocked the North American League of Legends community by merging North America’s LCS, Brazil’s CBLOL, and Latin America’s LLA into a single unified entity called the League of Legends Championship of the Americas, or LTA. While the some have arguably benefited from this change, many believe Riot Games is close to killing NA League with this decision and its fallout.

What’s the problem with the LTA in NA?

NA League of Legends has suffered recently thanks to Riot’s managerial decisions, including the rebranding of the LCS into the LTA and an unnecessarily convoluted tournament system. This follows on the back of previous decisions that have bothered the region’s biggest fans, ranging from dramatic schedule shifts that confused and alienated long-time viewers to a prevalence of best-of-one matches that seemed to run counter to what many League fans wanted.

The LCS had built over a decade of history prior to this rebrand, which included legendary moments like the rivalry between TSM and CLG, Cloud9’s original ascension into one of the most popular esports brands in the world, Team Liquid finally breaking through to win trophies, and more. The region produced some of the biggest and best-known names in the game, ranging from Doublelift and Bjergsen to Sneaky and Jensen.

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The rebranding to the LTA instantly caused NA League to lose much of its individual identity, making some fans less interested given that established rivalries and storylines created over the years were all formed within the LCS. Many still refer to NA League as the LCS, whether out of habit or out of a rejection of the very idea of the LTA.

Returning and lapsed fans have been vocal in their confusion over what the LTA even is, and its somewhat convoluted structure and transition from the LCS can make explaining it to casual fans more difficult than should be necessary.

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Then there’s the format adjustment. The 2025 LTA North’s first split saw the league scale down to six LCS franchises, with 100 Thieves being left in the scene as a provisional guest and the newly-rebranded LYON grabbing an LLA slot in the new competition. This change was followed by a revamped tournament structure that gave fans fewer matches overall, an overemphasis on best-of-one matches in the event’s initial phase, and fewer playoff games than what most fans hoped for. None of these changes were well-received.

In particular, the pick & play phase remains divisive. While some fans believe that it can potentially create new rivalries between teams and give room for more banter as squads must choose their opponents, it’s hard to ignore the problems this creates. Whereas most competitions would aim to highlight their best teams and rivalries upfront by immediately positioning them against each other, the LTA North format means that the league’s strongest teams will initially be stuck playing against weaker sides. It’s hard to develop much of a rivalry when the top team in the region is smacking down a team from the bottom of the previous phase’s standings.

All of this is just highlighting the most obvious parts of the LTA’s issues. There are also factors like seemingly scaling down talent and operations, the confusion about how the North and South teams are supposed to meet and compete outside of cross-regional tournaments, and the tendency of North teams to dominate against South teams, making the whole merger feel less interesting than it potentially could have been.

Is NA League of Legends dead?

While NA League of Legends has suffered following the rebrand of the LCS into the LTA and other decisions made by Riot, it isn’t quite dead and may still have a bright future ahead of it, as the region does still have a dedicated core fan following and its top teams have remained competitive internationally.

The creation of the LTA resulted in NA League seeing a drop in viewership. There was roughly a 23% drop in the 2025 LTA North’s first split compared to the LCS’s final year, and over 60% compared to 2021’s LCS tournaments. But all is not yet lost, despite Riot’s repeated missteps.

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Riot has at least addressed some fan concerns, claiming the organization has seen a slow but noticeable improvement in viewer satisfaction over time. FlyQuest’s performance at the 2025 Mid-Season Invitational was better than many expected, as it knocked out G2 Esports from the tournament with a comfortable 3-0 score and seemed very competitive versus even the world’s top teams. This brought more attention to the NA LoL scene and has raised the question of whether top NA teams may just be consistently stronger than their European competitors, with the LTA North having now established a higher ranking as a whole than the European LEC in Riot Games’ regional rankings.

And while some elements of the broadcast experience have inarguably been scaled down, fans have generally had praise for the remaining talents and the general vibe of LTA broadcasts, one that blends a casual spirit with a deep understanding of the game.

Ultimately, while NA League has lost much of what once allowed it to attract such a sizable following, the LTA North still has the same core as the LCS. The dissatisfaction that the rebranding received is understandable and doesn’t seem to be letting up, but things may settle down as fans and teams further adapt to the changes. With teams like FlyQuest and Cloud9 leading the way, the region should continue to make waves internationally.

The inclusion of South American League in the LTA also means that the potential viewer base is even larger, further highlighting the possibilities that do exist for the LTA. But ultimately, it all depends on whether Riot actually listens to its fans and continues to make meaningful improvements over time with the long-term health of North American League of Legends in mind.