{"id":33558,"date":"2023-12-18T19:27:23","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T00:27:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/?p=33558"},"modified":"2023-12-18T19:30:27","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T00:30:27","slug":"lec-winter-2024-preview-g2-esports-fnatic-tipped-to-dominate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/lec-winter-2024-preview-g2-esports-fnatic-tipped-to-dominate\/","title":{"rendered":"LEC Winter 2024 preview: G2 Esports, Fnatic tipped to dominate"},"content":{"rendered":"

The League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC)<\/a> 2024 season is set to kick off on January 13 with the opening week of the Winter split.<\/p>\n

This offseason has proved to be quite chaotic with numerous big roster moves, Karmine Corp replacing Astralis as the newcomers to Europe’s top LoL competition, and Riot Games announcing format changes for the league’s 12th season. Despite all that, the balance of power at the top has remained untouched.<\/p>\n


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LEC 2024 format changes<\/h2>\n

Following a significant overhaul of the league structure in 2023, the LEC has introduced some more changes for the 2024 season. The three-split layout will remain; however, after determining that last year’s format didn’t give players enough time to rest between events, the length of the breaks has been changed.<\/p>\n

Starting with the LEC 2024 season, the pauses between Winter and Spring splits and between the Spring split and Mid-Season Invitational<\/a> will be lengthened by one week. To balance the schedule, the break between the Summer split and the LEC 2024 Season Finals will be shortened by one week.<\/p>\n

Riot Games has also adjusted the LEC postseason. Besides merging the group stage and playoffs into a single bracket, the league changed how championship points and qualification for the LoL World Championship<\/a> will work.<\/p>\n

The LEC Summer champions will automatically qualify for LoL Worlds 2024 as the lowest seed, while the second and third teams will receive a direct bye to the Season Finals. The fifth and sixth teams will receive the same amount of championship points, as will the seventh and eighth teams.<\/p>\n

In another notable change for the LEC 2024 season, the minimum age for players in the league has increased from 17 to 18.<\/p>\n


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LEC 2024 Winter teams<\/h2>\n

The LoL EMEA Championship will again welcome 10 League of Legends esports<\/a> teams, including three new names.<\/p>\n

After merging with Spanish organisation Giants Gaming, Excel Esports have rebranded to GIANTX — a name adopted by all other Excel’s esports projects. The 2024 LEC season will also mark the return of Rogue, who reverted to their old brand in early November when KOI and Infinite Reality mutually dissolved their partnership.<\/p>\n

Besides two rebrands, the LEC will welcome a new team, Karmine Corp, who acquired Astralis’ spot in the league after the French organisation bought 66.67 per cent of subsidiary AK-Game SAS.<\/p>\n