100 Thieves sold their franchise spot to Riot at the inception of the LTA rebrand, with them getting a Provisional Guest Team slot through the year of 2025 while both the org and Riot decided what to do about that empty spot.

The time has come, and 100 Thieves have gone through with leaving the LTA after nearly 10 years in North American League of Legends. They took a domestic title and had some of the best rosters in the region, but the time has come for them to leave.

And, while this is in part due to 100 Thieves showing ambitions in other esports and wanting to invest more heavily into other titles, the LTA merger’s massive viewership decline may also be part of the equation.

LTA North’s Split 2 viewership was down over 30% compared to LCS Spring 2024, with LTA averaging at 80k and LCS Spring averaging 120k. While the peak viewership was still there, the average eyes on the League have dramatically dropped off in the transition.

100 Thieves exits LTA after 8 years of greatness

Though 100 Thieves made it clear that their slot in the LCS was likely going to be temporary, this news still came as a surprise. They signed on a new coach in Dhokla just a week before announcing their exit.

While the iconic org plans to finish out their 2025 year, come 2026 they’ll be replaced by a yet-unannounced brand. However, by the sound of 100T’s exit statement, that brand has already been selected.

Stefan Wisnoski/Riot Games

“In 2024, we made a strategic business decision to sell our permanent franchise slot in the LCS and accepted and invitation from Riot Games to transition to a Provisional Guest Team for the 2025 season. We understood that this arrangement was temporary while Riot Games would work towards securing a long-term partnership for the league in 2026. Riot Games has chosen to move forward with another partner and thus this marks the conclusion of our historic League of Legends run since 2018,” the statement reads.

However, a statement from former 100T alum and current FlyQuest CGO PapaSmithy shed a lot more light on what may have fueled this decision than the official statement.

“The reality I felt is that 100t leadership’s priorities as an org evolved past League of Legends even during my tenure there – The seeds of today’s decision were sown years ago from my eyeline, which to me is a massive disappointment given how much the program has contributed to franchise era LCS & LTA,” he claimed.

And, while 100 Thieves exiting the esport is by no means the end of North American League of Legends, it doesn’t exactly bode well. How good this is for the longevity of the esport largely depends on which organization ends up taking their place.

According to 100T Vice President of Esports Jungle Juice via a Discord Q&A, they didn’t get to fight for their spot back. Riot closed the door on them and told 100 Thieves that another org had already taken their place.

There aren’t many esports orgs who are on a buying spree that aren’t already in League of Legends outside of perhaps Team Falcons, a team whose inclusion in the LTA would surely come with its fair share of controversy. That said, it wouldn’t exactly be a surprise.

Alternatively, it could be Sentinels buying out the slot off the back of their success in Valorant, or perhaps MrBeast finally buying that LoL team they dreamed of.