The LPL has officially repurchased the franchise slot from FunPlusPhoenix (FPX), thus marking the organisation’s exit from the Chinese League of Legends competition.
According to the official statement from the LPL, FPX will cease participation in LPL and related competitions starting on January 1st, 2026.
FPX’s departure from the Chinese league was reportedly supposed to happen at the end of 2024, but it was Rare Atom that ended up leaving first. With the LPL undergoing major restructuring by reducing the number of participating teams, FPX have decided to step out of the scene.
“We thank FPX for weathering storms and walking hand in hand with the League,” said the official statement from the LPL. “Striving on our own paths, we share the same winds across a thousand miles! We sincerely wish FPX Esports Club soaring wings on its new journey and continued triumphs in writing new chapters of glory!”
No Rebirth This Time for FPX
FPX’s exit from the scene marks a major loss for the LPL as the team was one of the three Chinese organisations to win the League of Legends World Championship.
The team lifted the crown back in 2019 in Paris, defeating home favourite G2 Esports and putting an end to the European team’s golden road that season.
Since then, however, FPX has been unable to replicate those results, slowly losing its key talents, including Kim ‘Doinb’ Tae-sang and jungler Gao ‘Tian’ Tian-Liang. In the last season, FPX consistently competed in the mid-pack of the league, with a top-eight finish as the best result in the LPL Split 2.
One more team is expected to leave the LPL
Aside from FPX, the other Chinese team reportedly leaving the league is Royal Never Give Up (RNG), another iconic organisation that lifted multiple MSI titles. The team was also the home of Hall of Legends ADC Jian ‘Uzi’ Zihao for a large part of his career. That being said, there is still no official statement from the league regarding RNG’s exit.
The LPL is undergoing major changes in its franchise structure due to a lack of international results and reduced engagement. According to reports, the Chinese league will also introduce a new auction system for free agents and a reduced salary cap to further control teams’ spending.
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