Here are the franchised North American LCS teams

Riot has officially announced the 10 franchises that will make up the official permanent partners of the North American LCS. The organizations include a few new faces to the league as well as a few remarkable departures of big franchises of NA LCS past.

Chosen from across a sea of hundred of applicants, the teams that make up Riot’s new NA LCS represent a wide variety of backgrounds coming from both esports and traditional sports. According to Riot’s director of esports Whalen Rozelle, this combination should provide a healthier league from a business perspective but also one that will prove to be more competitive as well.

“We have 10 organizations that are going to invest deeply in their team and in their support staff and all want to win. No one applying is intent on losing and I think we have 10 owners who are very competitive and willing to make a splash,” said Rozelle in an interview with the Rift Herald regarding this announcement.

Below you can see all 10 teams that will be participating in the league as well as a bit of information on the teams themselves.

Teams

100 Thieves

A brand new face to the NA LCS, 100 Thieves will bring together the traditional sports expertise of NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and the esports experience of Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag, a championship winning Call of Duty player.

Cloud9

A familiar name to any North American esports fan, Cloud9 has grown exponentially since their debut in 2013 and will look to continue the success they’ve had over the last four years, into the future of the NA LCS.

Clutch Gaming

The Houston Rockets have laid claim to the nickname Clutch City since their championship winning NBA season back in 1994. With Clutch Gaming the Rockets will look to bring that same success to League of Legends.

Counter Logic Gaming

Counter Logic Gaming have been around North American League of Legends since its earlier days and will continue to represent the region as partners. CLG are no strangers to both the highs and lows that come with the competition having both won championships and battle back from the brink of relegation.

Echo Fox

One of the newest LCS teams to partner with Riot, Echo Fox have only been around the league since 2016, but in that time have gained a massive number of fans thanks to their brand’s ever present personality.

FlyQuest

FlyQuest first joined the NA LCS back in 2017 and quickly took the league by storm with a strong lineup of familiar players that won fans over. Now, as a newly partnered team with a brand new logo, FlyQuest will look to continue that fan-centric success.

Golden Guardians

Backed by the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, the Golden Guardians are another brand new team that will be joining the LCS in 2018. The team will look to use the same methods that helped turn the Warriors into an NBA powerhouse over the last several years to bring them success in the NA LCS.

OpTic Gaming

Unlike some of the league’s other new teams, OpTic Gaming created their legacy in other esports before turning to League of Legends. As one of the leading brands in FPS games across esports, OpTic will bring to the NA LCS an incredible amount of experience and a history of winning.

Team Liquid

As one of North America’s leaders in player development, Team Liquid have always been an organization focused on the future. Now, with the team as a longterm partner with Riot in the NA LCS that future is looking brighter than ever.

Team SoloMid

Undoubtedly one of North America’s most popular teams, TSM has led the way in brand building and fan engagement since the earliest days of League of Legends. In-game, the team’s achievements are just as impressive as the only team to attend every NA LCS Final and every World Championship.