PCS will expand to Oceania

Riot Games has announced that Oceania will no longer get a direct seat in international League of Legends tournaments and the region will have to play through the Pacific Championship Series (PCS). Additionally, several players must decide at the end of the year whether they want to register as residents of the PCS or the League Championship Series.

Riot Games is currently overhauling all of its various League of Legends leagues, with some changes being made to the LEC and LCK. Now Oceania is also set to see changes for 2023.

Major League Changes for Oceania

Riot Games developers have announced that the League of Legends circuit Oceania will no longer receive a direct invite to the League of Legends Worlds from the Mid-Season Invitational.

LCO will continue to operate in the domestic market, but the top two teams from each LCO split will compete against other teams in the PCS Playoffs for a chance to represent the Pacific region at international events.

“We believe that attending the PCS will provide a more competitive landscape for LCO teams, provide better opportunities for player development, and generate broader interest and fan base for LCO teams and players,” read the announcement by Riot Games.

Changes for residence 2023

In short, this time will be the last time a team from Oceania will receive a direct invitation to international events. No team from the region has made it into the playoff phase of either event.

The rules for residence will also change fundamentally as a result of this new rule. Until now, players from Oceania counted as both OCE players and North American players. At the end of the year, players who played in North America will have the choice to declare themselves residents of the PCS or the League Championship Series. Beginning next year, players from Oceania will then be considered residents of the PCS, meaning they can transfer from the LCO to the PCS without being considered imported players. A difficult decision!

More changes to leagues

Elsewhere in the league system, Europe’s premier League competition, the LEC, will reportedly make sweeping format changes. While the league remains at 10 teams – for now – there will be an additional split, several larger Super Weeks, a GSL-like tournament system, and potentially more best-of-three matches.

Rumors from North America suggest there will be changes there too; at the very least, the LCS is about to move its game days to Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

Header: Riot Games