Riot Games have confirmed the future shape of Northern European League of Legends competition. From 2027, the NLC will split into two distinct regional competitions — UK & Ireland on one side, the Nordics on the other. The 2026 season will operate as a transitional year under the existing NLC banner, with GameWaves, the Benelux ERL operator behind Road of Legends, taking over operations in partnership with local tournament organisers.
The Spring Split will run in a shortened format to catch up to the wider ERL calendar. A single round robin BO1 (best-of-one) stage will be followed by a seeded double-elimination playoff bracket featuring the top five teams. The champion qualifies for the EMEA Masters Spring Split. The competition launches on Monday, May 25 at 7 PM CEST on the official NLC Twitch channel. Riot have said more details on the Summer Split will land towards the end of June.
GameWaves, in a statement signed by their founder Floris Buurman, acknowledged community scepticism and said their focus is to "bring back stability". The NLC has already opened a public casting call for Spring broadcast talent, with applications open until the end of the week.
A reset after months of turmoil
The announcement closes a long stretch of uncertainty for the region. The NLC's previous operator, Leagues ApS — the Danish company behind LeaguesGG — informed Riot in March that it was no longer in a position to run the league. The company has since shut down entirely, with all staff let go. Riot was then forced to delay the 2026 Spring Split while it searched for a new tournament organiser.
The collapse came after a 2025 season that was, paradoxically, the most successful in the league's history. NLC Spring 2025 reached more than three million hours watched, propelled largely by the presence of Caedrel's Los Ratones. Leagues ApS leaned into the momentum with large arena events in Nottingham, Copenhagen and Stockholm, an expo area and even a K-pop performance at the Summer Finals. Behind the scenes, the bill did not balance, especially after the exit of Los Ratones from the competitive circuit the following year.
