Riot Games to Sell Echo Fox's League of Legends Championship Series Slot

Echo Fox is losing its League of Legends Championship Series slot, Riot Games confirmed on Wednesday. The esports organization and the League developer reached an agreement that has led to the termination of Echo Fox's spot in the competitive series, and the franchise will be replaced by another team ahead of the 2020 season. Riot will find a buyer for the slot using a system like the one used to select the organizations which currently have teams playing in the 10 Championship Series slots.

Riot's latest update on the fate of Echo Fox's LCS slot confirmed that an agreement between the two organizations had been reached on August 13th. The LCS will find a buyer for the team, and Echo Fox is said to be receiving most of the proceeds from the sale.

"On August 13, the LCS and Echo Fox entered into an agreement that will terminate Echo Fox's participation in the LCS," LCS commissioner Chris Greeley said in Riot's most recent update. "As part of that agreement, the LCS will sell the now-vacant tenth slot in the LCS and will provide the bulk of the proceeds from the sale to Echo Fox."

The question of what would happen to Echo Fox's LCS slot has been one looming over the organization and its fans for months now. Back in May, Riot announced that it had concluded its investigation into accusations of threats and hate speech among other claims made within the organization. Echo Fox was directed to remove the shareholder, but after being unable to do so, was required to sell its LCS slot.

If Echo Fox does not take action by removing any individuals whose actions violate League rules and agreements within the required time period, the League will take formal action that may adversely impact the future of Echo Fox in the LCS. -Chris Greeley, LCS Commissioner (2/2)

— lolesports (@lolesports) May 15, 2019

Esports and entertainment group Kroenke Sports & Entertainment was in talks to buy the slot, but Riot said the sale "did not come to fruition." Because of this, Riot will open an application process this week to find a new organization to fill the vacant LCS spot.

"Starting on August 16, 2019, we'll be opening a 30-day application process to select our new long term partner for the open slot in the LCS," Riot said. We'll be using an expedited process similar to the 2017 system that we used to select our initial long-term partners. We will focus on evaluating each applicant's ownership profile, brand strategy, business plan, and team operational plan. Our goal remains to have an orderly transition as we add a new LCS team ahead of the 2020 season."

Echo Fox is not currently in the running for the LCS Summer Finals. More information on the organization's LCS slot is expected to come as Riot moves forward with its application process.