LEC unveils groups for inaugural LGC Rising

Riot Games has unveiled the groups and schedule for its inaugural League of Legends Game Changers Rising (LGC) tournament.

The eight participating teams will be competing in the group stage from September 13th to September 28th. It will be a single round robin with best-of-one matches. The top three of each group will advance to the playoffs.

In Group A, G2’s sister team, G2 Hel, has been placed with Galions Pearl and Nexus Reapers, two of the playoff teams that qualified through the Equal Esports Cup (EEC). The other team in the first group is Zerance Bloom, the second-place team from the open qualifier.

For Group B, the four teams are Eterna, Solary Academy, and the two LEC-affiliated teams, SK Gaming Avarosa and Vitality Rising Bees.

The LGC Rising group stage matches will be played for the next three weekends on Saturday and Sunday, starting at 13:00 CET.

Judging by the latest Equal Esports Cup results, the top contenders for playoffs are G2 Hel and Solary Academy.

In particular, G2 Hel shouldn’t have many issues getting a top spot in Group A, considering the team has been playing competitively in the ERL scene earlier this year.

Solary Academy came close to beating G2’s sister team in the EEC final and is expected to be one of the front-runners in Group B, alongside Vitality Rising Bees, which came in third at the EEC.

The LGC Rising is Riot Games’ official women’s EMEA League of Legends tournament. Introduced this year, the competition is part of the company’s expansion of its Game Changers project, which has found great success in the past years in the VALORANT competitive scene.

Similar to VCT Game Changers rules, participation in LGC Rising is only open to players who identify as women to provide a ‘safe, respectful and competitive’ space where women can thrive.

Riot previously stated that it will be taking a steady approach to the first edition, emphasising that this is a ‘pilot’ event, but it’s designed to grow with the scene over time.