Riot bids farewell to the LTA as LCS and CBLOL return in 2026

League of Legends competitions, the LCS and CBLOL, will return in 2026 as independent leagues, ending the LTA after just one season.

Riot Games announced the return to the leagues’ previous brands at the 2025 LTA Finals, acknowledging consistent fan complaints about the loss of regional identity and frustration with the league’s confusing format.

The LTA was introduced in 2025 to merge North and South America into one competitive structure, connected through cross-conference matches.

At the time, Riot Games said it would raise the level of play, deliver more high-stakes matches, and experiment with new systems to support long-term sustainability. While it introduced improvements, such as weekend matchdays, the format was criticised as overly complex and too compressed. Nostalgia for the LCS and CBLOL never faded, and fans regularly voiced preference for their traditional regional leagues.

In June, Riot’s Global Head of LoL Esports, Carlos Antunes, addressed much of the criticism in an exclusive interview with Esports Insider. At the time, he defended the LTA’s goals and pointed out that many fans struggled to connect with the merged structure because of the sudden change. 

Tomorrow (September 29th), Esports Insider will publish a follow-up interview with Antunes, covering the return of the LCS and CBLOL and offering more detailed information about the upcoming changes.

By restoring familiar brands and clearer formats while keeping select innovations, 2026 will test whether a return to tradition can stabilise and strengthen the Americas’ League of Legends scene.

The League of the Americas launched in 2025 with two conferences: LTA North  — an LCS core plus NACL guest slots — and LTA South — composed of CBLOL teams with LATAM integration.

Twelve partnered teams were split into the two conferences, with guest slots added from Tier-2 leagues like the NACL and LRS. Legacy LCS and CBLOL organisations formed the backbone, while LATAM teams were folded in under the new structure.

Viewership quickly revealed cracks in the new region format and branding. LTA North peaked at around 149,000 viewers in Split 1, according to Esports Charts, but dropped to 146,000 in Split 2, with averages falling from 89,000 to 77,000. The Cross-Conference grand final reached just 166,000 — far below the numbers the LCS or CBLOL once commanded.

On stage, traditional powerhouses like Cloud9, FlyQuest, and Team Liquid led the North, while paiN, RED Canids, and FURIA carried the South. But the league never found stability. 100 Thieves announced it will depart from the LTA after previously selling its slot, and smaller teams failed to gain traction. The cross-conference tournaments were novel but lacked the rivalry weight that once fueled regional pride, leaving the LTA without a clear identity or consistent momentum.

In the end, the LTA’s one-season run highlighted how tradition and regional pride mattered more than experimentation.