u/ThonPharges

RFT.GG sat down with Chris Greeley, Head of Esports at Riot Games, on the occasion of MSI 2026 in Daejeon, for a candid conversation about the closed league, the crowded calendar, tier 2, the LCS decline, and more.

• On Faker retiring: "Sure, who isn't [scared]? He transcends the sport right now. He's sat down with the prime minister and the president of Korea." At the last Asian Games, conventional sport athletes lined up to take photos with him. "We're not prepared for Faker to retire, and I don't know that we ever will be. He's the Michael Jordan of esports right now." He hopes that Faker stays connected as an owner, coach or spokesperson. "No one is eclipsing Faker, and I don't know that anyone will for some time."
• On the closed league model: it worked in 2017 by giving teams stability, and the ERL system has been a genuine success : "half the current LEC teams were former ERL teams who bought into the LEC." Riot admits mistakes in the LCS though: "We reduced the league from 10 to 8, then two more teams left. Knowing what we know now, maybe we'd go back and change some of those decisions."
• On a potential full reset: "I don't think so. But there's a lot of room between where we are now and a total nuclear reset of the ecosystem." The LEC road trip experiment is the kind of iteration they want to keep pushing.
• On the crowded calendar: the real issue is discoverability, not saturation. Riot pointed to third parties events like the Asian Invitational filling gaps well : "what you're not watching is the number-four LEC team against the number-four LCP team. That stuff also has a place." For top players though, vacation windows have shrunk. "The window for actual vacation has gotten pretty short if you make every international event."
• On tier 2 lacking direction: no global fix yet. "The overall issue with tier two is that it's hard to attract money into that ecosystem." Subsidizing everything isn't the answer. Europe's ERL works, North America's promotion/relegation hasn't.
• On the "right of selection" introduced this year: happy with it. "It's added some strategic depth." The philosophy is to avoid gimmicks: "What if you allowed someone to sub a player out mid-game? Part of that is like releasing a lion on stage to fight a player - it doesn't necessarily increase the competition." Coach comms is still being tested and hasn't been thrown away.
• On the LCS decline: partly self-inflicted. "The LCS to LTA to LCS thing - I'll get roasted online for it." Big brands like TSM and CLG left. But the key insight: "Fans haven't stopped watching - they've just stopped watching the LCS. They're watching the LCK, the LPL, the LEC." Greeley wants out of the doomer loop: "People have been saying the LCS is dead since 2020, 2021 - and in those years our viewership was going up."
• On constant format changes: it's a balance between staying fresh and staying readable. Core MSI/Worlds formats haven't changed since ~2023. He leaned on a sports analogy: "I'm an American baseball fan - they've changed the pitching mound, added pitch clocks. But that's part of the fun of being a sports fan: who's better?"
• On 2027 being "the year of change": "There's nothing coming in League esports in 2027 where you're going to flip a table and say 'whoa, they've changed everything.' We're definitely not aiming for that."

The Rapid Fire Questions summed up :
closed league in five years? Maybe.
Global promotion/relegation? Maybe.
Fearless draft here to stay? Probably.
Does the US market concern you? Always.
Unified format long term? No.
Optimistic about the next five years? "Yes, incredibly."

TL;DR: Riot isn't planning any "table-flip" reset for 2027. Faker retiring is something Riot admits it will never be ready for. The LCS decline is real but fans didn't quit League, they migrated to LCK/LPL. Fearless draft is here to stay, coach comms is still being tested, and the calendar will keep getting more crowded. Greeley stays optimistic: "There's never been a better time to be a League esports fan."

• On facing Faker in a BO5 for the first time: "It was one of my biggest dreams. My biggest dream was to get a photo with him, and I got the photo, and I also played against him in the BO5. So for me, today was already an amazing day."
• >!On game three specifically: "I thought it was almost impossible to lose, but T1 did it again."!<
• >!Lots of regrets : "The series against LYON and this game three against T1 might be regrets forever"!<
• >!On what FURIA are missing: "There were so much smarter than us. Every time the mid game comes, they open up a lead."!<
• >!One clear area to fix before EWC: Objective situations around Baron and Herald. "We're throwing a lot around those timers. I don't think we're thinking the right things in those moments."!<
• On the mental difference between the LYON and T1 series: "In the LYON game we were kind of fighting each other when something went bad, we were super nervous. >!Today the idea was to enjoy the game."!<
• On the Brazilian server gap: "The difference from practice in Brazil is like giants, mostly for the lanes. It was a shock for them the first days, but we improved a lot."
• >!On the bigger picture for Brazil: "The next step for Brazil is to do well at international tournaments. At this MSI, we threw away a good chance to do something really nice for Brazil."!<

• >!No excuses : "What we did was unacceptable. We clearly got stomped. I hope we can bounce back for the next matches."!<
• On why G2 struggle against explosive teams: "They have a very, very fast, very aggressive playstyle, and as a team that's not really the style we manage to play well against." Same issue came up against TES. "It's really important to be able to match their tempo."
• >!On his own level: "Today we clearly saw we're not at the level, me included." The mage meta demands early explosivity from junglers. "That's something I'll need to work on."!<
• "The LCK's top two, HLE and T1, have a playstyle very similar to the LPL"
• On whether G2 are a top team in the world: "I'm not going to claim we're a top team in the world. But I think we clearly have the ability, the tools. We have very good players and good ideas to get there."
• On what G2 are missing: "Having that explosivity to get a kill in the early game and let ourselves snowball. That's something we lack a bit at G2."
• >!On the next match against T1 and the path back: "I'm clearly optimistic that we can show good things and I promise that to the fans who watched our BO today." Drew the parallel with First Stand after being 0-3'd by BLG "I hope it'll be the same. it's a bit of cope, but you never know."!<

• >!On the slow start: "Game one felt off, there wasn't enough communication, we were too hesitant, everyone felt the tension." The turning point was game three. "The most important thing was to win game three, to put in a good performance so everyone goes 'Okay, let's do this."!<
• On the mental improvement compared to last year: "We start our best-of-fives a bit slow - over the last three BO5s, we need to be better on that. But on the comeback side, it's clearly there."
• On his own performance: "I think I could have played so much better. I'll refocus and come back with better preparation. I think I'm strong these days - it's just that on stage, I feel I could give more."
• >!On HLE and Gumayusi next: "I'm very happy to get the chance to take my revenge against Gumayusi, I really want to beat him." His read on the matchup : HLE will play for scaling and top side timings. "I want to attack the best of five a bit more aggressively against HLE."!<
• On Gumayusi's style this year: "I find he has a more supportive playstyle - he plays a lot of AP-based picks. Sometimes you have an ADC who carries; here it's also his teammates helping him."

• On how he ended up at LYON: "Inspired just DM'd me : 'if you want to come to NA, come play with me.' I didn't really know why, but okay, he's the best player in the LCS, so I was down, and I just went for it."
• On being the best ADC in the West: "In the West, of course. I think so." On Hans Sama: "Back in 2022 I played against him and won the game but felt like I got gapped. I still think I'm better than him now."
• The spiciest take of the interview : on EU vs NA after First Stand: "I don't think EU is better than NA, it's just G2. If we beat G2 at MSI, then we're just better than EU. So we'll see."
• On KC's MSI exit against TL: "KC kind of lost their minds, I feel like, watching that."
• On coaching up Isles: kept pushing him on map reading, ward placement, positioning. "He looks like he's improving, I do think he can get compared to the other best supports."
• On LYON's level now vs split one: "Back then we didn't really play as a team. Now we're actually good. I do think we can compare ourselves even with LCK."
• His tournament goal in one sentence: "Just to beat an Asian team while I'm here."

• On arriving as heavy favourites after winning Road to MSI: "Being considered a strong favourite is not something I'm not used to. We came here to win. I hope we can play up to the expectations."
• On his weak-side playstyle: "I believe I'm pretty good at pulling off that role I'm given. If I'm playing that low-resource, weak-side role, the return coming from that strategy is even bigger."
• On the synergy with Zeus: "Me and Zeus have really good synergy and teamwork. Considering the amount of time we had to build that teamwork, I think we built it pretty fast, and that led to a really good performance."
• On Uzi handing him the Worlds MVP trophy, one of the most iconic moments of last year: "Uzi was always one of my role models. When I heard he'd be awarding the finals MVP, I was like, I wish I'd be the one getting the trophy from him. I'm just grateful and happy."
• On potentially facing his former team T1 at this MSI: "I'm very confident in international-event Gumayusi. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to put up a great performance."
• On advice for Western ADCs: study matchups, get lane priority, the rest follows. And a closing word for Western fans in English: "Thank you for supporting me. I'm winning the MSI. Thank you."

Rapid fire Questions :
- best ADC in the world right now? "Yes."
- Best in history? "Yes, I will be."
- EU winning Worlds one day? "Maybe."
- Peyz is the second best ADC in the world right now (this year)? "Yes"
- Your Miss Fortune skin is the best skin ever made for a pro player? "Yes"

• >!On the elimination itself: "There's no shame in losing to T1. There'd be shame in losing to KC or DCG, you know."!<
• On Oner winning every 50/50 smite: "The way he smites is very smart. He waits for the last second, it's very impressive." On the first series he blamed bad sleep. By the second, he'd accepted it. "I think he just goes smart based on his experience."
• On letting Oner play Lee Sin in game one: "Whenever I see a so-so angle, I think: if the teams are good, they'll punish you. It's not like I'm mad about him taking it."
• >!The biggest takeaway from the tournament: learning to have fun on the international stage for the first time. "The other times I'd pressure myself to just win, and when we lost I'd be so sad. Today, I feel like I had a really good international overall even if we lost." The conclusion: "Maybe having fun was not the answer before, and now I think it's the correct answer."!<
• On finding a second pro life at TLAW: "It changed my mentality too, the having fun, it all started here really." After years of doubting, this tournament felt like confirmation. "Maybe I just need to be surrounded by a better environment where I can work better. And have fun. That's the most important."
• On G2 and LYON's chances against LCK and LPL: "It's all about mentality, and those types of players have the mentality to win. I'm sure they'll do well."

• >!Brutally honest from the start: "Terrible. This MSI Play-In is a disappointement. We never really knew what we wanted to play. I think we showed a side of ourselves that wasn't us at all."!<
• >!On the pressure on stage: "There was way too much pressure - we were too scared to play our own timing, from start to finish."!<
• On the contrast with how strong they looked after the G2 final: "After the G2 loss, we'd become really good. I even think we probably should have won that final against G2." >!The drop-off at MSI hit harder because of it. "For me it's a big failure and even a disaster."!<
• >!On the scrims-to-stage gap: practive was genuienely going well, even after their toughest loss of the tournament. "We're clearly not the same team of stage, internationally, as we are in scrims."!<
• On the criticism that comes with the pressure of always being expected to perform: "Personally, I don't really care what people say. I say what I think. They can say whatever they want on social media - it won't get to me." Especially after a tough loss, he avoids social media entirely: "I know it'll always be looking for someone to blame, hunting for problems. It's just going to be far more negative than anything else."
• On what's to work on for the rest of the year: "Just being confident, being able to play a classic gameplay on an international stage - being at 100%, clear on the plays we want to make, what's possible and what isn't, how we use our spells, what we want to fight for, our drafts, all of it"
• >!On the road ahead with EWC in Paris : "I think we'll take a short break, try to come back, and try to fix the problems we had at this MSI."!<
• A message to the fans: >!"I don't think we showed a good face at MSI, and I'm sorry for that. We'll try to do better at the next international events."!<

• On bouncing back after the T1 loss and facing DCG today : "They're a team that plays incredibly quickly. They're an opponent that when they lose, they kind of lose ugly. We made them do it a couple of times, so it was a good win."
• On missing opportunities against T1: "It's not that we should have won - it's that we were in a position where we could have won one or two games. Having a 0% conversion rate as opposed to 50% or 100% is just really disappointing." Even the 50/50 smites didn't go their way against Oner. "He's just the GOAT at it apparently."
• On managing his team's mentality after game two against T1 slipped away: "League rewards you for being proactive and playing with good intention." After the game, the team got stuck dissecting every detail - "Faker's cheating every side lane, what's going on here" - and Spawn had to pull them back. "If we don't push the game forward with good intent, we'll lose the game before it starts." He drew the parallel to their LYON loss, where a stern post-game talk led to a flat, lost game two.
• On Quid's reputation pressure since his Worlds breakout: "I love that kid. Just reassuring him - we have absolute confidence in him. I often tell him: even if you don't believe in yourself, know that I will always believe in you."
• >!On Facing KC next: "I think it'll probably come down to Yeon versus Caliste, and whoever plays better will probably win the series."!<
• On a potential T1 rematch: "It's not like we think they're unbeatable. I know we can kill the Nexus. And if you can kill it once, you can kill it three times."
• On what success looks like for his three-year TL project: "We need to make a semifinal at something for me to feel like I've nailed this. If we keep losing in groups, then I've just done the same thing every other coach has done."

• On the pace gap against T1 : "I do think we played a little bit slow. They're quite a fast team and they just have maybe one more turn because of how fast they play. That's mainly the gist of how it went."
• On a thrown advantage in game two: "We were definitely a little bit nervous and scared. At some point we were just like, oh, maybe if we do nothing, they'll throw. We did a little bit of nothing."
• >!On never having beaten an LPL or LCK team across five internationals: "It's not hopeless, because in the end our game plans and ideas aren't wrong. I just think our process is quite slow compared to waht our ideas are."!<
• On the meta making everything faster: "The game itself right now is very fast, especially with how the meta is shaping. When you have champions like Camille and Bard, it's just a lot of fighting all over the map."
• On the difference between this series and the LCS final loss to LYON: >!"Today I think we just failed ourselves. In the other series, we just didn't do anything. There was a bit of of a difference between the two."!<
• about a possible loss to DCG. "Then maybe we swim home." But still confident: "Yeah, I think we definitely have a shot still."

• On whether the international bootcamp has accelerated his growth more than the LEC: "I wouldn't say I can feel a huge difference as of now. The improvement will be felt once the international competitions are over and I go back to playing in the LEC. It's still too early to feel it."
• On joining KC: "At first, I wasn't thinking about it at all. It was only when KC came looking for me from Europe that I started thinking about it." He knew Canna from First Stand but didn't know much about the rest of the roster's details.
• On expectations once he saw the roster: "They actually have a stacked line-up. I was expecting that we could make all the international competitions and win a few titles. Reaching at least the finals seemed pretty obvious to me."
• On the two lost finals against G2: "We lost because we played worse than G2 that day. Between G2 and us, it wouldn't be surprising for either one to win."
• On Caps compared to top LCK mids: "For the laning phase itself, I think Korean players are a bit better. But on many other aspects, I think Caps is better. So when you combine all that, I think he is a World class player, yes."
• On finally facing Faker internationally with KC: "Of course I'm confident, because I earned a spot coming from the LEC. More than anything, I just think it's going to be so much fun that I just want to play the match as soon as possible."

• On living up to expectations since his Worlds breakout: "Honestly, I think I'm underperforming. Team Liquid picked me because they see me as the best mid laner in the LCS, and that adds pressure. But I keep reminding myself: I play my best when I'm enjoying the game."
• On facing T1 again after his Worlds series against them: "If you let Faker roam around the map, the game gets really hard for everyone. I'm confident I can lane against Faker and stop him from taking over the map. That's where I think we get our chance."
• On T1's new bot lane being a potential opening: "Their laners are among the best in both lanes, so even when you get a lead, you can't lose focus. Against the top LCK and LPL teams you can't just ego."
• On backing himself against KC despite NA being ranked below EU: "Ranking the LCS below the LEC is fair. But in that specific matchup against KC, I back us to have the edge."
• On turning down KC last offseason for Team Liquid: "I joined Team Liquid to really learn League, how to read the game, not just laning. And they have CoreJJ, which was the main reason."

On the rapid fire round:
- NA currently better than EU? "Yes."
- Better mid laner than kyeahoo, the player KC signed instead of him? "Yes."
- Team Liquid making it out of play-ins? "Yes."

• On the first international with this team: "Feeling good. First international with this team. I think our trajectory has been pretty good recently, I'm just excited to get that experience and play."
• On scouting DCG ahead of their match: "A lot of fighting, just very, very bloody gameplay, for sure, instinctual." But comparing it to the G2 series last split: "G2's more of just really playing for jungle and vision and pressuring with invades. While this team is fighting on all fronts. So it's just very different from G2."
• On the improvement after losing to G2 last split: "After we lost to G2, we had two weeks of practice before we played next. We identified some weaknesses that they exposed in us. Then we just worked on those things day by day, and built a lot of good habits." The early game was the clearest area to fix.
• On T1's bot lane ahead of play-ins: "Of course it's good. They're a top LCK team." On Keria specifically: "He's very much a playmaker, very instinctual. But those kinds of players also tend to maybe overplay sometimes. So it's a double-edged sword." Still considers him the best support in the world overall.
• On making it out of play-ins: "Yes, we're playing. We gotta believe. There's no reason not to believe. If we're playing well, I believe we can win, make it out."

LYON MSI Bootcamp Accounts: https://dpm.lol/esport/soloq/teams/LYON

• Dhokla - INDIAN SUPERSTAR#LYON
• Inspired - Polaco de pastor#ptm
• Saint - saint#50101
• Berserker - LYON#09012 (Main KR Account)
• Isles - lenix#style
• Castle (2nd Top) - Castle#Jo1 (Main KR Account)
• Reignover (Coach) - Reignover#R O

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Team Liquid MSI Bootcamp Accounts: https://dpm.lol/esport/soloq/teams/TLAW

• Morgan - Morgan#5358 (Main KR Account)
• Josedeodo - Lionel Messi#TL10
• Quid - 붐칙칵칙#KR1 (Main KR Account)
• Yeon - HeungMin Son#TL7
• CoreJJ - Kangin Lee#TL19

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16 teams split into 4 seed pools for the EWC 2026 group stage in Paris.

• Pool 1: HLE, TSW, G2, BLG
• Pool 2: AGAL, T1, LYON, GEN (title defender)
• Pool 3: GAM, JDG, KC, DK
• Pool 4: FUR, MKOI, SEN, MIBR.LOS

Pool 1 faces Pool 4, Pool 2 faces Pool 3 in the first round. Each region can only have one team per group.

Full details on RFTGG : https://rft.gg/event/esports-world-cup-2026

https://preview.redd.it/wovfl3s3909h1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=9962d5f61514cd3d62f6441eaec8efbbd30d4e01

16 teams split into 4 seed pools for the EWC 2026 group stage in Paris.

• Pool 1: HLE, TSW, G2, BLG
• Pool 2: AGAL, T1, LYON, GEN (title defender)
• Pool 3: GAM, JDG, KC, DK
• Pool 4: FUR, MKOI, SEN, MIBR.LOS

Pool 1 faces Pool 4, Pool 2 faces Pool 3 in the first round. Each region can only have one team per group.

Full details on RFTGG : https://rft.gg/event/esports-world-cup-2026

https://preview.redd.it/1ypycz5tbg8h1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=84d2207baa143b86335b941c2350753b8c73eb80

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Which player will be the highest KDA ? Which champion will be picked the most ? How many reverse Sweep ? Will KC really 3 - 0 T1 ?
Try to win a Logitech setup, Fulllife Vouchers, League RP with all prizes available all the way from 1st to 63rd place !

Make your picks on RFTGG : https://rft.gg/event/msi-2026/pickems

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RFT.GG's interactive ENC hub is fully updated with all confirmed national rosters in one place.

• Explore every nation on an interactive world map and see their full roster, players, club affiliations, coaches
• Community Roster Ratings : vote on your favorite lineups and see how they stack up on a live leaderboard
• Right now South Korea sits on top with a 9.6 community rating (Zeus, Canyon, Faker, Gumayusi, Keria), with China close behind at 9.4 (Bin, Tian, Knight, Jackeylove, ON)
• Rumored lineups are flagged separately from officially confirmed rosters, updated as announcements drop

Go rate your country's roster and see where it lands on the leaderboard : https://rft.gg/nations-cup?country=fr

These teams are skipping qualification phase and are directly qualified for the main event.

https://preview.redd.it/d8whsu4kb18h1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=2fd55e48b332960b5f866a23810dba2ba050f69d

Keep an eye on all the national Rosters on RFTGG to leave your rating !
The map will be updated here : https://rft.gg/nations-cup

G2 Esports MSI Bootcamp Accounts: https://dpm.lol/esport/soloq/teams/G2

• BrokenBlade - Vasco Shot#12345
• SkewMond - G2G2G2#G2G2
• Caps - g2caps#g123
• Hans Sama - 12838712#123
• Labrov - 12356060564#6767
• Rodrigo - G2CAPYBARA#RODRI
• Memento - G2FIGHTING#G2MSI

https://preview.redd.it/6f0uciexdu7h1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=a772d51cecd16383e562d8ebab385a3484ae42f5

Karmine Corp MSI Bootcamp Accounts : https://dpm.lol/esport/soloq/teams/KC

• Canna - 칸 나#0211 (Main KR Account)
• Yike - YKE#1111
• kyeahoo - 라면 밀수범#흐흐흐 (Main KR Account)
• Caliste - KC CALISTE#MSI
• Busio - yuh#yah
• Zeph - Zeph#KCX

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