Special Feature on NA LCS League Evolution
1) Riot Games announces a new roadmap: 'NA LCS League Evolution'
2) Permanent Partnerships in NA LCS - What does it mean for Riot and the orgs?
3) Shared revenue - A virtuous cycle between organizations and Riot Games
4) 'NA LCS Player's Association' - How would they help the players?

The first part of the NA LCS Evolution announcement was on permanent partnerships. Along with its length taking more than half of the entire announcement, it shows how much Riot care about this change. Then, why would Riot Games want to form a permanent partnerships with organizations?

Let's start with players. Players cannot compete without organizations. Not only those organizations pay the players, but they also help the players to perform better by providing them with environment where players can just focus on improving their game. Also, rivalry between teams makes an interesting narrative as well.

For Riot Games, organizations are important partners, as they allow Riot Games to manage the league easier. Without organizations managing teams on their own, Riot Games would need to invest more time, personnel and effort to operate a league. In fact, it would be impossible for a single entity to micromanage every team, considering the number of different leagues and teams existing worldwide.

As such, organizations are a quintessential part of esports, and their investments fueled the growth of esports as an industry. However, there was one factor that many team owners have cited as being a risk that discourages large investments - the relegation system.

Relegation system is a huge risk for organizations to say the least. Not even teams in the LCS can guarantee that they'll turn a profit. If a team gets relegated, the team is going to be no longer attractive to investors nor to the future fans as they won't be playing in the 'big leagues'. Since the spots in the LCS were limited, there is no guarantee when - or if - they'll be promoted again. Again, this is a risk that all teams face, and it discourages further investments.

For example, CJ Entus has traditionally been one of the powerhouses in the LCK. Their best run was being the runner-up of the Worlds 2012, but they were relegated in 2016, and they've failed to get promoted for the 2017 Summer Split. CJ is one of few conglomerates owning esports teams in Korea, and if they decide to pull the plug on esports, it will serve as a bad example for other companies looking to own or sponsor an esports team.

With these changes, Riot Games effectively eliminated the dangers of relegation and made LoL esports more attractive for future investments.