We want the LEC back, so we can spam in the chat… and luckily we’re only a few short days away from welcoming competitive League of Legends back to our screens for 2023.
In 2023, we’re setting the competitive year off with a truly global celebration – as across the world, LoL Esports’ competitive regions put their best to the test with a series of unconventional show matches. On January 11 at 5PM CET, the LEC’s Season Kickoff Event will see two teams comprised of grizzled veterans and hot-headed rookies take to the rift to make their mark as LEC Season Kickoff Champions.
As we kick off our new season, we want to honor our past while forging our future as EMEA. We’re celebrating both the pros who’ve shaped the LEC, and those who are about to make their competitive debut and mark their names in the league’s history.
With a combination of LEC stalwarts like Team Vitality’s Luka ‘Perkz’ Perković, exciting young talents like G2 Esports’ Martin ‘Yike’ Sundelin, and even international superstars turned LEC newcomers like Shunsuke ‘Evi’ Murase, this tournament will showcase synergies that may well never be seen again in the LEC arena.
Our teams will compete in a best-of-three on the Summoner’s Rift map – but this won’t be your average best-of-three.
They’ll be playing in our all-new kickoff format: a best-of-three series on Summoner's Rift where bans are disabled, drafts can’t be repeated, and players are forced to test their role swap prowess by shuffling lane assignments after a victory. It’ll stretch players’ creativity, champion pools, and ability to stay cool to the very limit – and if you’ve always thought your smite/ghost Bard top lane pick was the secret game-winning technology, this might be the only chance you get to see it played out on the LEC stage.
Expect wacky picks, lane swaps, and some true old-school fiestas. Forget about the experience advantage – the LEC Season Kick Off will require players to rely on pure high performance and mechanics to navigate restricted champion pools and last minute lane swaps.
Raising the stakes even higher, these teams won’t just be battling it out for the glory of being crowned Season Kickoff Champions. Each player from the winning team will have the opportunity to design their own custom emote alongside the Game Design team, which will be available for purchase in the League client later this year.
We’ll be kicking off the action with an exclusive livestream on the LEC’s TikTok, hosted by Trevor ‘Quickshot’ Henry, starting at 4PM CET on January 11. The Season Kickoff Event will begin one hour later at 5PM CET at lolesports.com.
If you're not able to join us live at 5PM CET, fear not! You can relive all of the action on the rebroadcast over at lolesports,com, starting at 4am CET / 7pm PT. And trust us – this is one you really, really don’t want to miss.
