Riot Games has announced that the 2020 League of Legends European Championship (LEC) Spring and Summer Finals will be held in Budapest and Malmö. This is the first time the live esports tournament will head to Budapest, Hungary on April 25 – 26.
Budapest, Malmö for LEC in 2020
“Not only is Budapest one of the most picturesque cities in the continent, it’s a vibrant center for the growing esports community in Hungary and throughout Eastern Europe,” said Alberto “Tiroless” Guerrero, Head of Esports for Europe at Riot Games, in a release. “We’re proud to be a part of this developing market and to bring live League of Legends esports to fans in a new country.”
Budapest is a new location for the League of Legends scene, but it has hosted many previous esports tournaments. The V4 Future Sports Festival featured a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) tournament in 2019, with a $330,000 USD prize pool up for grabs.
Esports tournaments for tourism
“Malmö is a young and vibrant city and gaming is quickly becoming rooted in the backbone of our city. We are excited to host the LEC 2020 Summer together with Riot Games,” said Ann Nyström, Destination Manager, city of Malmö. “It is an important step for us in becoming the best gaming city in Europe.”
While Sweden isn’t a new name for LEC fans, this will be the first iteration of the event being held at the Malmö Arena. Sweden is also home to many esports events, with Jönköping, Sweden hosting DreamHack in 2011, which showcased the first League of Legends World Championship. Multiple CSGO events have also been held in Malmö – a city which is well-known for its partnerships in the gaming environment.
With how large of an industry that esports is, cities are now working directly with Riot Games to host their events. Whether tourism or reputation, the American video game developer revealed that it has already been evaluating bids for the 2022 season.
The 2020 LEC Spring Split has begun today, with G2 Esports taking on the newly rebranded MAD Lions.
