The first split of the LPL new season will kick off in two days. The four teams competing in the opening match have successively revealed their rosters. IG’s lineup matches previous rumors, with Rookie returning to replace Renard. This young talent who stood out in the Demacia Cup is mainly just participating in that event. Still, Renard remains on IG’s roster for the new season, meaning if Rookie falters, he could get the starting spot.

During the Demacia Cup, WBG and JDG fielded their full main rosters, and there are no changes for the first split. As for Top Esports, their roster includes two AD carries. Brother might not sit out the entire first split; if he manages his health well, he should return as a starter in the mid to late stages. These two best-of-three matches are quite interesting to watch. It’s unclear how well WBG has gelled, but if they can’t beat IG, it would be somewhat surprising.

Riot announces cancellation of league prize money.

Riot officially announced recently that starting in 2026, prize money sharing will be canceled for the LEC, LCK, and LCS regions (the LPL region will retain it). In short, Riot will no longer provide prize money, so even winning the league won’t earn teams a cash prize. Originally, our region was considered the toughest, but with Riot’s move, the LCK seems to face even greater difficulties. Since profitability was already hard, losing prize money will only increase costs.

GEN team CEO responded after hearing the news: Whether an esports team can survive depends on whether they correctly assess themselves—whether to cut spending to ensure the team’s survival or find ways to expand revenue streams. These are issues clubs must consider going forward. The LCK’s annual prize pool is about 2.7 million USD, with the champion earning at most around 1.4 million. For clubs, that seems like just a drop in the bucket.

Ruler banned for bullying teammates.

The first split of the LCK is about to start soon, but the players don’t seem eager to train. Recently, during a livestream, Ruler played Soul Arena with T1’s support Keria and coach Helper. While playing, Ruler’s bullying nature flared up; he cursed at his teammates, and the message accidentally sent to everyone because the team wasn’t set properly. As a result, he was reported by viewers and immediately banned.

Right after sending the message, Ruler kept apologizing and begged others not to report him. However, a viewer replied, “Already reported, thanks.” If memory serves, Ruler had previously cursed at a teammate during a livestream and got banned then too. Last time, he was fined 800,000 Korean won. It’s likely he will face punishment again this time. Having two incidents in a row, Ruler really hasn’t learned his lesson.

Xu Ge praises BDD’s incredible skill.

Recently, LCK officials invited the Ancient Dragon group captains from various teams for a pre-match interview. Xu Ge expressed his most anticipated team as KT and lavishly praised BDD: Watching the World Championship this time, my respect for BDD has gone beyond respect to admiration. He is truly outstanding. I wonder if BDD will lead the Ancient Dragon group team into the winners' bracket.

After all the praise, BDD’s smile was even harder to contain than AK’s. If Faker had said those words, one can only imagine his expression. The Ancient Dragon group’s overall strength is indeed a bit better than the Baron group, because in the Baron group only T1 and GEN are top-tier teams. The rest are uncertain; NS is questionable, and DNS is unbeatable by anyone. Compared to that, DRX is better, but DNS might become a liability later on.

Conclusion:

Although LPL’s recent years’ results have been mediocre and popularity declining, it still has a solid foundation and Riot values it highly. However, this prize money cancellation decision will significantly impact the other three regions. Clubs losing this income will have to find compensation elsewhere. Given the current environment, aside from T1, it’s very difficult for other LCK teams to turn a profit.

So, what do you think? Was Riot’s decision to cancel prize money the right move?

Feel free to leave your thoughts and join the discussion!