League of Legends Season 3 detailed, includes new pro series
League of Legends is back for a third championship season, boasting Riot Games' biggest investment to date, including a whole new line-up of professional events.
The League of Legends Championship Series is a new global league of paid teams due to launch alongside the third season of the main, amateur competition. The series will include multiple paid matches each week leading up to a World Championship. Despite the pro eSports nature of the events, all matches will be streamed live in HD for free.
The top three teams from European regionals at gamescom and US regionals at PAX will automatically qualify for the pro league, but the league will include eight teams from each region plus an unspecified number of Asian teams. Teams will have a chance of qualifying for the Championship Series by participating in regular Challenger Circuit events, which return for season three.
Riot hasn't detailed what prize money will be on the table, but even though players will draw a salary, it's promising "millions of dollars in prizes up for grabs".
The Championship Series will join MLG's League of Legends events, meaning there are now two streams for pro players. Trailer below.
