Liga Latinoamérica Explained

Liga Latinoamérica
Current Season:2023 LLA season
Last Season:2022 LLA season
Upcoming Season:2024 LLA season
Formerly:Liga Latinoamérica Norte
Copa Latinoamérica Sur
Sport:esports
Game:League of Legends
Folded:2024
Owner:Riot Games
Inaugural:2019 LLA Opening[1]
Teams:6
Champion:Rainbow7 (2nd title)
Most Successful Club:Isurus (3 titles)
Qualification:Promotion tournament
Tv:Twitch, YouTube
Related Comps:Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends

The Liga Latinoamérica (LLA;) is the top level of professional League of Legends in Latin America (refers to Hispanic America). The esports league is run by Riot Games Latin America.[2] Each annual competitive season is divided into opening and closing seasons, which conclude with a playoff tournament between the top four teams.

Plans for the league were first announced in May 2018 by Riot Games, which stated that it would merge Latin America's two regional leagues, the Liga Latinoamérica Norte (LLN, North Latin America League) and Copa Latinoamérica Sur (CLS, South Latin America Cup), into a single competition.[3] [4]

The LLA will cease after the 2024 season, as two teams from the league will join a merged pan-American league, with a team from Northern Latin America joining the North Conference (made up of teams from the LCS) and a team from southern Latin America joining the South Conference (made up of teams from CBLOL).[5] [6]

Format

Each opening and closing season consists of a group stage and a playoff stage. In the group stage, teams compete for points in a triple round robin spread over two phases. The top four teams from the group stage advance to the playoff stage, which uses a "King of the Hill" single elimination bracket.[7] During the 2019 season, there were no phases in the group stage, and six teams participated in a standard single elimination bracket in the playoff stage.[8]

At the end of each split, the teams in the LLA are given performance points, with the bottom two teams in performance points after the Closing split playing in promotion and relegation series against the winners of the two regional leagues in Latin America, the Liga Regional Norte for teams in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Colombia and Ecuador, and the Liga Regional Sur for teams from Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay, for a chance to play in the next season's LLA. The 2023 promotion and relegation series was cancelled, with no performance points awarded for the Closing split, after The Kings were expelled from the LLA after the Opening split and Leviatán taking their spot from the Closing split onwards.

Group stage

Playoffs

Double elimination bracket

Current teams

Estral Esports Infinity Isurus
Leviatán Movistar R7 Six Karma

Past seasons

YearSeason
2019Opening Isurus Rainbow7 All Knights
Closing Isurus All Knights Infinity Esports
2020Opening All Knights Isurus Rainbow7
Closing Rainbow7 All Knights Isurus
2021Opening Infinity Esports Furious Gaming All Knights
Closing Infinity Esports Estral Esports Furious Gaming
2022Opening Team Aze Estral Esports Rainbow7
Closing Isurus Estral Esports Team Aze
2023Opening Rainbow7 Six Karma Estral Esports
Closing Rainbow7 Estral Esports Six Karma
2024Opening Estral Esports Rainbow7 Isurus
Closing

Notes and References

  1. News: Souto . Francisco . LoL: La CLS y LLN se fusionarán en una liga latinoamericana única a partir de 2019 . 6 January 2020 . Cultura Geek . 31 May 2018 . es-AR.
  2. News: Vergara . Pedro . The final of the League of Legends of eSports will be in Bogotá . 6 January 2020 . LatinAmerican Post . 19 April 2019 . en-gb.
  3. News: Ashton . Graham . Riot Games to Unite Latin America League of Legends Competitions . 6 January 2020 . The Esports Observer . 31 May 2018.
  4. News: Fitch . Adam . Riot Games to consolidate competitions into singular Latin American league . 6 January 2020 . Esports Insider . 1 June 2018.
  5. News: Wilson . Jason . Riot Games rolls out consolidation plan, new spring event for League of Legends esports . 11 June 2024 . . 11 June 2024 . en.
  6. News: Taifalos . Nicholas . McIntyre . Isaac . LCS, CBLOL, LLA unified as Riot takes VALORANT-like approach to LoL esports . 11 June 2024 . Dot Esports . 11 June 2024.
  7. Web site: La LLA cambia de formato para el 2020 . la.lolesports.com . LoL Esports Latinoamérica . 7 January 2020 . es-AR.
  8. Web site: ¡NO TE PIERDAS LA LIGA MOVISTAR LATINOAMÉRICA 2019! . LoL Esports Latinoamérica . 6 January 2020 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190114153229/https://las.lolesports.com/noticias/no-te-pierdas-la-liga-movistar-latinoamerica-2019-118075 . 14 January 2019 . es-AR.
  9. News: Moncav . Melany . Riot Games announces teams for new Latin American League (LLA) . 6 January 2020 . Esports Insider . 11 October 2018.
  10. News: Souto . Por Francisco . LoL: conocé a los 8 equipos que formarán parte de la liga Latinoamérica 2019 . 6 January 2020 . Cultura Geek . 8 October 2018 . es-AR.