Following the controversial merging and relocation of the two Latin American leagues last year, Riot Latin America has officially announced that the Latin American League (Liga Latinoamérica or the LLA) will be returning to Mexico starting with the 2020 season. This is huge as LLA Mexico has been highly requested for quite some time.

The move, a highly requested maneuver by teams and fans hoping to see the region improve internationally, was announced yesterday afternoon in a YouTube video on the official LLA channel.

This also includes a new stadium located in the Arena Cinemex at the Artz Pedegral Mall in Mexico City that will, for the first time, allow live audiences to attend regular league matches.

The article also revealed the league had signed a media rights deal with Azteca Deportes, one of the largest television companies in Mexico, giving them unprecedented visibility across its distribution network.

In the paired announcement article on the LLA website, Riot discussed the decision to move the league for 2020, and what it means for the scene as a whole, stating,

“2019 has been a year of evolution for the LLA, and above all of the support from our fans who connected to watch the broadcasts and enjoy the contents of the LLA every week. The growth we have had in audience, consumption of content and increasingly important commercial agreements, has opened doors that did not exist in the past, and have allowed us to close this agreement with Azteca Deportes and Arena Cinemex that we believe will be transcendental for our league in the coming years.

We believe that this important alliance will help us continue our efforts to have a sustainable scene, improving day by day the esports ecosystem in the region. We are proud of this milestone and recognize that it is the result of the work of the entire ecosystem; teams, media, Riot and many more, but above all the support of the community as a whole.

Our players and teams remain a priority in this alliance, and that is why we are having conversations with them and we will be supporting them in the relocation process to Mexico City by 2020. As we mentioned when starting operations in Chile, the physical place where the league is never going to prevent us from bringing the best esports experience to the entire region and, as for the end, our commitment remains to move throughout Latin America.”

Long-Desired Move

The return to Mexico has been a much-requested move since the two original Latin American leagues, Latin American North and Latin America South, merged together into one joint league last year.

For many teams, the move grants them easier access to strong scrim partners from the North American LCS, such as Team Liquid and Cloud9, in addition to easier travel to international events for them and fans.

While the move was met with positivity, fans expressed their concern about moving the esports department for the region so far from the rest of Riot. The Rioter responded remarking esports was the last department still based in Chile, as the rest had already moved over to offices located in Mexico.

The Rioter, known as Maggical, also noted that while the LLA Mexico move would relocate the entire region’s staff, that would not impact Riot’s commitment to the South American half of the region, and that they would continue to support the game and esports through Latin America.