League of Legends or Valorant Esports Events are celebrated worldwide, even the small regional ones. Riot has now decided to cut the budget on the prize pools for those events.
Anyone who has played League of Legends or Valorant is familiar with Riot Games’ esports tournaments. Recently, Riot announced a major shift: starting in 2026, prize pools for regional League of Legends events will not be funded anymore.
Small Payouts But A Meaningful Amount Of Investment
The decision primarily affects tournaments funded through the Global Revenue Pool (GRP). Major regions such as Korea and EMEA are impacted, including leagues like the LCK, LEC, and LCS. The only exceptions are CBLOL and the LCP in Brazil and the Pacific region, which operate under different partnership models.
Riot also confirmed that major events like First Stand, MSI and World will not be impacted by this change and will continue to be funded by the GRP. Reasoning for this drastic measure was, according to Riot, the rather small payout for players in comparison to the investment that was made.
Riot also confirmed that flagship international events, such as First Stand, MSI, and World, will not be affected and will continue to receive full GRP funding. According to Riot, the reasoning behind these cuts is that the prize money paid out to players was relatively small compared to the overall level of investment being made.
As outlined in the company’s latest update, those resources are intended to be redirected toward long-term ecosystem development. Riot says the reduced budgets are meant to support a more “sustainable” and “connected” future for League of Legends esports.
From a financial perspective, this move did not come as a complete surprise. According to the Korean news outlet DealSite, Riot has seen a significant decline in revenue across several leagues over the past three years.
Esports Team Manager Speaks Out
Arnold Won Hur, manager for the Korean team Gen.G, reacted via Twitter to these changes. "Teams will live or die.", he states, depending on the region they are in, without the funding from Riot.
Arnold Won Hur, team manager of the Korean team Gen.G, responded to the announcement on Twitter. He warned that without Riot’s financial support, “teams will live or die” depending on the region they compete in.
He also criticizes the change of heart that many esports publishers had. While some are focusing on creating new revenue streams and pushing the topic, others focus on cutting costs, like Riot.
Hur also criticized what he described as a shift in mindset among esports publishers. While some are actively searching for new revenue streams and pushing innovation, others, like Riot, are choosing to focus on cost-cutting instead.
For teams, this change means finding alternative ways to generate revenue. Monetization has long been a contentious issue between teams and publishers, and these budget cuts represent yet another challenge the industry must "tank".
Unfortunate to see prize pools being removed from LCK. As publishers push esports toward profitability, some will focus on creating new revenue streams, others on cutting costs.
— Gen.G Arnold (@arnoldwh) January 9, 2026
Teams will live or die by whether they can predict which cycle they are in.
What do you think about these budget cuts? Do you think it's necessary? Share your opinion in the comment section!