Hey LCS Fans,

Today we unfortunately have some sad news to share – our own Nick Allen will be leaving Riot at the end of July to be closer to family in Northern California.

It’s hard to say goodbye. It’s been an amazing run over the past two and a half years with Nick at the helm of League Operations, and we’ve loved working with him to steer and grow LoL esports worldwide. Family is incredibly important, and we support Nick’s decision to move to be closer to them. As esports fans, we’re also glad that Nick will be staying in esports and accepting a role at Twitch in esports partnerships. We’re looking forward to continuing working with him to evolve and innovate esports into something that’s worthy of you guys.

In terms of how this affects the LCS, while we can never replace Nick Allen’s full beard or his ability to be the butt of fine jokes, we’ve recently strengthened our LCS operations team with the addition of Hunter “Riot Hebble” Leigh. Expect to hear more from him in the coming months as he and the LCS team continue to improve how our league works from day to day to support teams, players and fans.

Esports and the LCS has grown tremendously these past few years, and it’s been an incredible journey that we’ve been honored to share with Nick. While it’s sad to see him go, we’ll remember his contributions to building the sport we love and are looking forward to seeing what he can do in the future. We know Nick will be just… fine.