LFL Faces Departure of Two Teams in Just Three Days Amid Uncertainty Over 2027 Organizer

Team Vitality has decided to withdraw its academy team from the Ligue Française de League of Legends (LFL), marking the second French organization to exit the league in just three days due to uncertainty about its future leadership in 2027.

In a video shared on X on October 9, Vitality announced it is halting its LFL activities and disbanding Vitality.Bee, which has been a part of the LFL since its inception in 2019. In the video, Vitality CEO Fabien “Neo” Devide expressed concerns about the league’s direction, stating, “Today, Webedia’s withdrawal means we don’t know who will take over.”

Devide highlighted that the European Regional League (ERL) system is undergoing changes and requires more time to develop into a satisfactory ecosystem that would encourage reinvestment. He acknowledged financial considerations, saying, “We need to make trade-offs today, and the trade-off is that we want to keep investing in the LEC, where we have a more established roadmap.” He framed the decision as a temporary pause rather than a permanent exit, saying, “It’s not goodbye, it’s more of a see you soon.”

Just two days prior, Ici Japon Corp Esport announced it would cease operations at the end of 2026. Reports indicated that the club, which joined the LFL in 2025, made this choice partly due to the league’s uncertain future. Joblife also shut down its League of Legends division in September. Reports suggest that half of the teams that participated in the 2026 LFL Summer Split are confirmed not to return in 2027, with only five of the ten LEC organizations still maintaining a presence in the regional leagues.

The root of these departures lies with the league’s operator. Reports from August indicated that Webedia would no longer manage the LFL starting in 2027, ending its involvement that began with the league’s creation. This information was first shared on a French esports show. Webedia co-managed the league alongside Riot Games France, handling commercial partnerships, daily operations, and broadcast production. Notably, the LFL did not host any in-person events in 2026, marking the first year without such events since the pandemic began in 2020.

This trend reflects a broader retreat from esports. Webedia previously organized the EMEA Masters, Europe’s premier second-tier League of Legends competition, in 2024 and 2025, but stepped back in 2026. Bertrand Amar, who led Webedia’s esports operations, departed the company in December 2025. In a March interview, Amar mentioned that Webedia chose to narrow its esports focus to established French competitions that posed less risk. Just five months later, the LFL was reportedly also being removed from that portfolio.

The organization often mentioned as a potential successor has stated it had no plans to take over the league. Amar co-founded New Esports Org. (NEO) with Matthieu Dallon, the creator of the Electronic Sports World Cup (ESWC). NEO has since taken over the EMEA Masters and the League of Legends Game Changers women’s circuit from Webedia. NEO was seen as a logical candidate for the LFL, given Amar’s role in its creation. However, NEO clarified that while they are in discussions with Riot and key stakeholders in France to establish a sustainable model, they had not intended to invest in the LFL, focusing instead on the EMEA Masters and Game Changers LoL.

The financial strain on academy teams was evident even before Webedia’s exit. In 2025, Vitality and Team BDS attempted to merge their LFL academies to pool resources, but Riot blocked the merger on competitive integrity grounds, despite initial approval from both Webedia and Riot’s local team. By that time, other teams like Gentle Mates, GameWard, and IziDream had already announced their departures from the game.

France is not alone in losing its league operator this year. The organizers of the Northern League of Legends Championship announced in March that they could no longer manage the league, leading Riot to establish an interim structure with GameWaves. Spain’s league was taken over by LastLap, a group chosen by the league’s organizations, while Germany’s Prime League has a new operator in onethreefive gaming GmbH, based in Berlin.

Riot has also closed the pathway for regional teams to ascend to the top tier. The LEC Versus format, which allowed regional teams like Los Ratones and Karmine Corp Blue to compete on the LEC stage in 2026, will not return. LEC Commissioner Artem Bykov confirmed in a September interview that the classic LEC format will remain, with ten LEC teams competing. Reports indicate that Riot is waiting for the current three-year licensing cycle with the 13 regional league organizers to conclude after 2027 before considering any changes to the system.

Despite these challenges, Vitality’s overall business continues to grow. Reports indicate that the organization has been signing new partners, including BYD France as its official vehicle supplier. This suggests that the pause in LFL activities is more of a strategic budgetary decision rather than a sign of a broader retreat from esports.

The pressing questions now revolve around who will take over the LFL in 2027, the format it will adopt, the number of teams involved, whether Riot will provide direct funding during the transition, the current operational costs for an LFL team, and whether Webedia’s exit was a voluntary decision or a result of non-renewal. There has been no public confirmation from Webedia or Riot regarding the change in operator.

The immediate concern is whether a new operator will be appointed before French organizations finalize their budgets for 2027. The larger question remains whether Riot is willing to allow its European second tier to diminish until the licensing cycle concludes or if it will intervene to maintain the development pathway in the meantime.