Riot gives amateur League of Legends players a new way to get scouted

Riot has announced the NA Scouting Grounds, a new event designed to give amateur League of Legends players a shot at the pro leagues.

Breaking into the LCS and challenger series has been reasonably difficult for NA talent over the years, thanks to an established old guard and the influx of foreign players that head to the league due to the incredible money on offer.

In order to help players get noticed by the big NA organisations Riot will hold the Scouting Grounds competition this November. On October 31st the top four players in each position from the NA ranked ladder will be invited to play in the tournament, providing they are not under contract with a pro team and have never played more than two pro LoL matches.

Teams will be formed on November 13th and will get to bootcamp and learn from NA LCS organisation such as Team Liquid and Echo Fox, for a few days before competing in the tournament. Riot will be taking care of all housing, transportation and meals for the players.

NA teams will be invited to watch the event live, while replays of each game will be sent to international teams to also give them a chance to pick up some of America’s best players. This hints that the competition will not be broadcast to the public, but that is yet to be confirmed.

Currently the event will remain unique to the NA region as the multiple partner leagues, such as the ESL UK Premiership, in Europe already give players a clear pathway to the LCS.