LPL has been at a significant disadvantage compared to LCK in recent years
For gamers following the League of Legends Esports scene, LPL and LCK have always been seen as fierce rivals competing intensely in international tournaments. However, in the past two years, LPL representatives have shown a serious decline compared to LCK in terms of achievements. It is worth noting that the last time LPL secured an international title was back at MSI 2023 with JDG’s championship. Since then, T1 has claimed both the 2023 and 2024 World Championship titles, while Gen.G also managed to take home the MSI 2024 championship.
This lack of success has caused LPL to face numerous difficulties, even losing the trust of domestic fans. The most obvious sign is the decline in viewership for the LPL tournament during both the spring and summer splits. Following that, several teams have lost sponsorships and are at risk of bankruptcy or being expelled from the LPL in the upcoming season.
Doinb reveals the “revival plan” for LPL by the tournament organizers
Faced with such challenging circumstances, the LPL organizers have had to take strong measures to reform and enhance the competitiveness of the tournament. In a recent stream, Doinb revealed that the tournament organizers are looking to eliminate a series of underperforming teams both in terms of results and business. The goal is to learn from the LCK model, which requires only about 10 truly quality teams.
“The LPL organizers want to eliminate weak teams in the next season to strengthen the region and ultimately aim for the World Championship. The goal is to reduce the number to around 10 teams like LCK and create a truly competitive environment. Many teams strive to join the LPL just to receive the annual dividend without caring about their performance or the quality of their roster. Those teams hardly attract any viewers. I’ve heard that the LPL organizers really want to get rid of such teams,” Doinb shared.
Indeed, in recent years, LPL has been facing a “crisis of excess” as they have 17 teams in their league. However, the truly quality teams are limited to a few familiar names like BLG, WBG, TES, LNG, or JDG. Even when teams like AL or FPX manage to create surprises, their contributions are minimal compared to the huge number of other teams in the LPL.
Clearly, in such a less competitive environment, the strength of LPL teams will diminish, resulting in a significant gap compared to LCK. Therefore, the plan to reduce the number of participating teams in the LPL to around 10 (similar to LCK) is seen as a reasonable approach. This could increase the competitiveness of LPL representatives and help make the tournament more attractive. Hopefully, this plan will prove effective and help LPL return to compete fairly with LCK in the upcoming 2025 season.