Current season, competition or edition: 2024 LCK season | |
 | |
| Game | League of Legends |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Country | South Korea |
| Venue(s) | LoL Park, Seoul |
| Most recent champion(s) | Hanwha Life Esports (2nd title) (Summer 2024) |
| Most titles | T1 (10 titles) |
| Qualification | Franchise partnership |
| International cup(s) | First Stand Mid-Season Invitational World Championship |
League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) is the primary competition for League of Legends esports in South Korea. Contested by ten teams, the league runs two seasons per year and serves as a direct route to qualification for the annual League of Legends World Championship. The LCK is administered in cooperation between Riot Games and KeSPA.
The league was formerly named League of Legends Champions before undergoing a major restructuring in late 2014, which saw a change in the competition's format and a rebranding to its current name. OGN reserved exclusive broadcasting rights of the league until 2016 when rights were split with SPOTV Games.[1] In 2019, Riot Games took over the broadcasting of LCK.[2][3] In 2021 the LCK franchised, and Challengers Korea (CK) and the LCK promotion tournament were discontinued.[4]
The LCK is considered one of the strongest League of Legends competitions in the world, with teams from the league winning the World Championship a record nine times, including five consecutive titles from 2013 to 2017.
- ^ "리그 오브 레전드". leagueoflegends.co.kr (in Korean). 16 December 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ Fogel, Stefanie (11 January 2019). "Riot Games to Independently Broadcast 'LoL' Champions Korea This Year". Variety. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ^ Leslie, Callum (13 November 2017). "Riot plans to take over LCK production in 2019, open LoL Park studio". Dot Esports. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ^ Daniels, Tom (2 November 2020). "Riot Games reveals LCK's 10 franchised teams". Esports Insider. Retrieved 3 January 2021.