Riot shook the very foundation of North American League of Legends when it announced its move to a franchising model.
The aftershock that some of the league's regulars wouldn't be staying with the league were just as major. But now, in the aftermath of some major teams and players no longer holding a spot in the soon-to-be franchised NA LCS, it's time for things to get moving.
According to an ESPN report by Jacob Wolf, the NA LCS is now entering a special transfer period for players on teams that didn't make the franchising cut.
So what does this mean?
Welcome to the jungle
The NA LCS is stacked to the very brim with talent, and that won't change with franchising at the door. But as it stands, some of the best players the league has are currently not on a qualified team.Â
In this special transfer period that Riot has planned, players from these teams will be able to transfer or sign to new teams that qualified for franchising. This means that names like SSumday, Pobelter, Xmithie, MikeYeung, LirA, Shrimp, and plenty more are all up for grabs as far as we know.
Looking at the rosters that reportedly have maintained their slot in the NA LCS, teams like TSM, CLG, Cloud9, and Team Liquid, that means we could see some absolute fireworks in 2018 should sugar meet spice and everything nice.Â
Whether we see a diverse competitive field, a super-team form and take control of North America, or TSM continue doing exactly the same for another pair of Split banners, it'll be a damn exciting ride. But in the meantime, we have plenty of room to speculate on some absolutely groundbreaking developments for the NA LCS and North American League of Legends.Â
Showtime
With more money in the scene than perhaps ever before, it's time for the talent to show why all the investment was worthwhile. In the effort to build new League of Legends brands out of some newly entering orgs from other esports, and even some orgs from other sports entirely, we'll see what it takes to be a franchise player and what it means to fall short of expectation. But first, we'll have to see who signs who, who goes where, and which set of 5 will come together to do great things for each of the new teams.Â
To follow all the offseason excitement and all other things League of Legends, stay tuned here on RealSport for more.Â
What do you think of Riot's new transfer period? What players do you want to see on the same roster in 2018? Let us know in the comments below!
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