Chinese League fans are getting a new way to watch LCS and LEC

Riot Games has partnered with Chinese streaming platform HUYA for LCS and LEC broadcasts.

With China having the largest League of Legends player base in comparison to other regions, the interest in the European and North American official leagues is growing as well. Riot announced an extension to the partnership with HUYA, one of the most popular live streaming platforms in China, which will now include exclusive rights to broadcast LCS and LEC matches.

Riot and HUYA want to bring the LEC and LCS worldwide

The collaboration between HUYA and Riot so far has included broadcasting rights for the LCK, and it was the main platform for major Chinese leagues including the LPL. HUYA also recently partnered with Team Liquid for the LCS team’s streams. With the 2020 season starting, Riot is bringing more of the Western League to fans in China as well.

“As we saw in 2019 at the Mid-Season Invitational and Worlds, top teams in North America and Europe are fiercely competing to challenge the global dominance of Asia in League of Legends,” Riot shared in a statement. “Through our partnership with HUYA, we hope fans in China will enjoy seeing friendly Western rivalries evolve and follow the exciting playstyles and draft compositions these teams will bring to the international stage.”

Given China has a completely different structure of online platforms compared to the West, this is big news for League fans interested in the LEC and LCS teams. This could also mean that Chinese pro players will have easier access to their international opponents’ strategy, meta, and play styles, allowing them to better prepare for international tournaments and track what’s going on in League of Legends elsewhere in the world.

Just as fans already do in the West, Chinese fans will get to watch the 2020 LCS Spring Split and 2020 LEC Spring Split starting from January 24 for the LEC, and a day after for the LCS.