Riot announce Ground Zero Gaming as LCP 2026 Guest team

Darragh Harbinson, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 22/12/2025

Riot has announced that Ground Zero Gaming (GZG) will take the Guest Spot in the LCP, which resulted from the removal of PSG Talon from the league.

The Australian organisation will represent the PCS, necessitating the representation of players from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.

PSG Talon were expelled from the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP) following “significant” payment delays, which also saw them lose their VCT spot in Valorant.

Who are Ground Zero Gaming?

Ground Zero Gaming are an Australian organisation which has traditionally fielded Australian rosters in the now-defunct League of Legends Circuit Oceania (LCO).

As the winner of LCO 2024 Split 2, the Australian organisation earned a place in the PCS 2025 season, signing a full Taiwanese roster to compete.

The org cycled through over twenty players in their three splits in the PCS, finishing 7th, 7th, and 7th/8th in the three PCS 2025 Splits.

The organisation currently only has one player, Korean Ju ‘Equinox’ Yeong-min, a former BNK FEARX Academy Top Laner, who signed to the organisation in August.

However, Riot rules mean that the roster must contain at least three players on its starting lineup who are residents of the League’s region at all times during the season.

This means that Ground Zero must procure at least three players with residency in Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Macau to supplement Equinox on the roster.

Luckily for GZG, PSG Talon’s roster is still fully available following the ruling from Riot, which expelled PSG Talon from the LCP.

The roster’s individuals were resultantly made free agents, allowing them to negotiate with other organisations.

Riot provided the following statement:

“The League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP) is proud to welcome Ground Zero Gaming (GZ) to the 2026 season as a Guest team.

In selecting the new team, we followed the same principles that guided our initial selection, including identifying a team that best represents the values of our sport and region, while demonstrating the operational stability and readiness needed to ensure sustainability. We also prioritized maintaining a balance between regional representation and competitive strength, staying true to our goal of making the LCP both diverse and entertaining.

After a careful review of a number of proposals, we determined that GZ met all our requirements and would be the best fit for the league. 

GZ will represent the Pacific Championship Series (PCS) as its home region, and as per LCP Roster Policy, they will be required to have players from the PCS region. Their home region will also apply to any applicable LCP Promotion Series Guest slot contention.

We are excited to welcome Ground Zero Gaming, alongside the rest of our teams, as the LCP returns for a new season on 16 January 2026.”

Darragh Harbinson, Senior Editor

Darragh Harbinson is an esports writer specialising in Counter-Strike. He has written for Esports News UK, Esports Insider, UKCSGO, Dexerto, and Rush B Media.

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