Golden Guardians and Evil Geniuses dropping from LCS 2024

Olivia Richman Published 20/11/2023

The LCS 2024 season will only have eight teams.

Riot Games’ president of esports, John Needham, has just announced that the LCS will be an eight-team league in 2024. This is the outcome of a “mutual decision” with Golden Guardians and Evil Geniuses to “exit from the LCS.”

Here’s what that means going forward.

LCS 2024 update removes GG and EG

With the Golden Guardians and Evil Geniuses dropped from the league, Needham said that the LCS will be “much more flexible” going forward.

He said: “This change will allow us to be much more flexible as we prepare to restructure the league for future success.”

According to Needham, this change was made prior to the start of the free agency period “to allow impacted players the ability to pursue opportunities with other teams or leagues.”

While it was written like a positive change, some fans are skeptical. Wrote one on Twitter/X: “In greater context, this isn’t a good look. Only time will tell if this is the correct move for the health of the LCS. As of right now though, this change feels pretty bad, and as a fan this makes me worry about the stability of the league.”

Some fans responded that it was about time that EG leaves but felt Riot had to pick another team to make the league have only eight teams. Another voiced that the timing was bad but felt the change would make the LCS more competitive.

Unfortunately, no other details were given at this time so it’s unclear what will happen to the players from Golden Guardians and Evil Geniuses just yet. It’s also not clear what this “reshape” will truly look like thus far.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

View full profile

Read Also

Esports Betting

Gen.G vs HLE: Best betting odds and picks for LCK 2026 grand final Hannan Mundia The 2026 LCK grand final will see HLE challenge Gen.G to determine which team walks away with the first-place prize, giving the winning team a much-needed confidence boost before the World Championship. After every top professional Korean League of Legends team has poured sweat and time, this year’s LCK split is finally about to conclude. The grand final match will be between the powerhouse team Gen.G and the challenging Hanwha ...

Esports Betting

Here Are My Predictions For The Hanwha Life Esports vs T1 LCK Lower Final Ben Boland LCK fans are in for a treat as Hanwha Life Esports and T1 both battle for a ticket to the grand final, where Gen.G awaits. The last time these two met, they tore the house down. I expect more of the same this time in the lower final. Here are the best bets to make on HLE vs T1 in the LCK 2026 Summer Playoffs Lower Final at GG.BET, one ...

League of Legends

Riot Games eyes Polymarket and Kalshi for esports sponsorships Michael Hassall Riot Games, the creator of League of Legends and VALORANT is reportedly exploring the protentional of sponsorship deals with prediction market operators including Polymarket and Kalshi, as per reports emerging late last night (Sep. 10). First reported by Cecilia D’Anastasio of Bloomberg, Riot has started conversations with the two top prediction market operators, Kalshi and Polymarket, with a view to one or both of them becoming sponsors within Riot Games’ ...

Esports Betting

HLE vs T1: Best Betting Odds and Picks for LCK 2026 Playoffs Hannan Mundia HLE and T1 will duke it out in the 2026 LCK Playoffs lower bracket final, but which team has a better chance of facing Gen.G in the grand final? This year’s LCK season has been filled with ups and downs. In particular, the top three teams have constantly struggled against each other, but Gen.G managed to get ahead of the fray in the end. Now, HLE and T1 will face ...

Esports Betting

Bet Tips and Predictions For Team Vitality vs MKOI LEC Summer Playoffs Ben Boland The LEC playoffs are well underway, and we have Team Vitality taking on MKOI in a do-or-die series. Lose here, and your chances of qualifying for Worlds 2026 go up in smoke. With Vitality getting dismantled by G2 Esports in their opening series, it begs the question whether it was just the G2 playoffs magic, or Vitality are not the team we thought they were. Let’s take a look at ...

Esports Betting

LCS Playoffs Round 1 Best Bets: Will C9 Falter? Ben Boland The LCS Summer regular season has finally come to a close and six teams will now do battle over the next few weeks with the hope of representing their region at the 2026 League of Legends World Championship. The first round of playoffs is expected to set the tone for what is to be an exciting conclusion to the return of the LCS. Cloud9 and Shopify do battle once again, ...

Esports Betting

The Best LCS Summer Split Week 7 Odds: Upsets On The Horizon? Ben Boland The LoL betting world is in for a treat this weekend as the LCS Summer Split regular season enters its final week. Everything is to play for, from the battle for first place to who starts life in the upper bracket. Esports betting sites are unsurprisingly covering the games extensively, and here my tips to bet on for each LCS match this weekend. This is a series that could go ...