The League of Legends European Championship has frankly been remarkably disappointing and boring to watch this year, with a distinct lack of competitive spark from contenders and very low levels of gameplay.

This decline in overall game quality and team performance started from last year, with many attributing it to the new three-split season format. This setup has made the viewing experience consistently dull and exhausting, with top teams dominating with wins as the rest of the teams show little improvement. For example, G2 Esports, despite a rocky start, is on a six-game win streak and is the clear favorite to win the summer split and represent EMEA at the Esports World Cup. And domestically, match outcomes are often predictable based on team matchups alone, with weaker teams struggling to improve.

Excluding favorites like G2 and Fnatic, most teams have been underwhelming, showing poor player cohesion and jungle-support synergy. Key moments in the game, such as early rotations and team fights, are often messy and poorly executed. Now, player expectations were low this year, with many unproven talents entering the league during the winter split. But still, their performance declined significantly by the end of the summer split even though some initially showed promise.

MDK, for instance, started strong with a promising roster but fell apart in the summer split, barely making playoffs with a 2-7 record. RGE, on the other hand, has shown no signs of improvement all year, failing to qualify for playoffs in any of the three splits. Organizational cost-cutting has also impacted the recruitment and management of players, leading to a revolving door of rookies with little success.

The league currently feels like it is held together solely by G2 Esports, the top western team with no real competition, which in turn could ultimately hinder G2's performance on the global stage. So, the LEC, once known for its high-level play and creativity, now struggles under a format that gives players little regular-season experience and stunts their growth with very little room to improve during the offseason. The management needs to make worthwhile changes to retain the existing viewers or the league might fall victim to esports winter.