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The NLC, the Northern League of Legends Championship for the UK, Ireland, Malta and Nordic countries, has today announced changes for 2025 and 2026.
Organisers Leagues.gg made the announcement in a video narrated by British LEC caster Medic today, alongside Riot’s own announcement regarding broader changes to ERLs (EMEA Regional Leagues) for next year, listed further in this article.
NLC format changes for 2025 promise ‘dynamic, more exciting’ league with three splits and ten teams
In 2025, the NLC will move to a three-split format like the rest of the ERL system, and will adopt Fearless Draft, mirroring Europe’s upper-tier LEC.
Specifically for the NLC, the number of teams is increasing from eight to ten. In terms of how the two new teams will be chosen, that’s something organisers will announce as soon as they can.
The existing teams for 2025 currently include DMG Esports, Lundqvist Lightside, Nord Esports, Ruddy Esports, Venomcrest Esports, Verdant, Rich Gang Esports and the newly added Bulldog Esports (who have replaced Nativz in the NLC). Caedrel’s new Los Ratones roster are also eligible to play in the NLC or EBL.
The NLC previously had ten teams, but this was lowered to eight when the NLC was demoted to a non-accredited ERL in November 2022.
We asked organisers if this means the accredited ERL system is changing.
NLC Product Manager, Frederik Dolberg Hockauf, told Esports News UK: “There will still be a distinction between accredited ERLs and non-accredited ERLs (like the NLC). Each tier has some restrictions applied to it, but they’re mostly regarding documentation and monetary obligations.
“For the 2025 to 2027 ERL License Cycle, some of the prior standardisation restrictions (primarily regarding format and structure) have been lifted.”
Frederik Dolberg Hockauf, NLC
In terms of each NLC split in 2025, teams will compete in a seven-week format, consisting of a seeding stage and a playoffs stage.
“The seeding stage will consist of a single round-robin, with teams divided into two groups, based on the standings of the last split,” Medic explained. “From the seeding stage, the teams will be placed into one big double-elimination bracket, which will be played out from week two to seven. This is where all teams get their chance to show what they got in a best-of format – say goodbye to best-of-one matches and say hello to the potential of historic runs.”
NLC Division 2 removed in favour of greater links with national leagues: ‘It’s time to bring national rivalries to the forefront of the ecosystem’
NLC Division 2 has been removed for 2025, with ‘the intention of improving the system as a whole, and making the national leagues more impactful like back in the day’.
The NLC RPS (Regional Promotion Series) will now transition to an annual promotion tournament between NLC Division 1 and the national leagues, where the teams competing in a national league will accumulate championship points across the three splits to qualify to the NLC RPS.
The UK and Ireland UKEL will get four slots that lead into the NLC, while Sweden and Norway will each get two, and Denmark and Finland will get one each.
“It’s time to bring national rivalries to the forefront of the ecosystem, and this is a big leap towards that,” Medic added.
“With this change, you can look forward to seeing the national leagues flourish even more as they get closer to the upper level of the ecosystem.”
Medic
At Esports News UK we’re old enough to remember early UK esports LoL rivalries like Choke Gaming vs FM Esports and ManaLight/MNM vs Renegades and more.
Now, with the new UK guard of Verdant, Venomcrest, Ruddy, Bulldog and others (yes, Brod n Friends, you’re also getting a mention as I know some of you search my articles looking for your name – hi Twitter!), we look forward to seeing these rivalries highlighted more in the future.
Esports News UK also understands Leagues.gg are monitoring all national tournament operators, are tightening up some of the TO requirements, and and are in talks with Riot and the operators to regularly evaluate and improve the national leagues where they can.
NLC 2026 season to add live roadshow events as NLC teams join their respective national leagues
From 2026 and forward, the NLC league will take another structural shift, with 2025 acting as a transitional year for organisations to prepare.
Starting in 2026, the NLC teams will join their respective national leagues, and play on a national level alongside their participation in the NLC.
“This change is meant to further bridge the gap between NLC and the national leagues,” Medic commented. “Each national league will have slots that lead into the top division.”
Teams can change on a yearly basis, with the NLC being played alongside the national leagues throughout each year.
National league teams will accumulate championship points throughout the year, and at the end of the year the teams with the most points from each national league will have a chance to promote to the NLC the following year.
“To boost the new system, we’re introducing NLC roadshows which will take the competition to live venues across the NLC countries. Expect awesome live events that bring the action closer to you than it’s ever been before.”
Medic
So, will NLC teams have academy teams playing in the national leagues? Or will it be their main NLC roster?
“It will be the teams themselves occupying a spot in both the NLC and a National League,” said Frederik Dolberg Hockauf, NLC Product Manager.
“How the teams choose to operate is their own choice. They can either use the same starting line-up all the time, or utilise subs to make changes as they see fit.”
ERLs and EMEA Masters format changes for 2025
The NLC news is also a part of some wider changes announced to ERLs by Riot today.
This brings three splits per season across all the ERLs, culminating in a season finale.
“The season finale of each ERL will be adapted to suit local needs. This change not only creates more opportunities for players to showcase their skills, but also introduces an additional pathway for teams to qualify for EMEA Masters,” Riot said in a press announcement.
“In 2025, each league will have greater flexibility to design split formats tailored to their unique needs and communities. So, expect a diverse array of formats across the ERLs next year.”
EMEA Masters, the league that features the best teams from across the ERLs, will also expand to include three events throughout the year.
More format changes are expected to be announced for EMEA Masters soon.
Fearless Draft will debut in ERLs and EMEA Masters for the 2025 season
Fearless Draft will be introduced in the Winter Split and will follow the same version as it does in the LEC.
And to confirm, the NLC will adopt fearless draft in 2025 too.
So, what is it?
Riot explained: “In Fearless Draft, once a champion is selected, it becomes unavailable for both teams for the remainder of the series. This means that with each game, 10 additional ‘Fearless Bans’ are added. The typical 10 bans from the pick/ban phase will remain intact, making every choice critical and ensuring no repeat picks, even in game five.
“This format encourages daring strategies and forces teams to quickly adapt to an ever-evolving champion pool, making every match even more intense and unpredictable.”
EMEA Masters 2025 schedule and dates
- ERL Winter Split: January 13 – March 9
- ERL Spring Split: March 24 – May 30
- EMEA Masters Winter: March 17 – March 23
- EMEA Masters Spring: June 3 – June 21
Get more League of Legends NLC esports news here
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
