{"id":71890,"date":"2025-10-20T19:13:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T22:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/sheep-esports-sources-riot-games-set-to-remove-ltr-requirements-in-erls\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T19:13:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T22:13:22","slug":"sheep-esports-sources-riot-games-set-to-remove-ltr-requirements-in-erls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/sheep-esports-sources-riot-games-set-to-remove-ltr-requirements-in-erls\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheep Esports – Sources: Riot Games set to remove LTR requirements in ERLs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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You can now field a team of five spanish players in LFL<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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One of the cornerstone mechanisms of the European League of Legends<\/a> ecosystem is about to disappear. Riot Games has decided to remove the requirement for ERLs to enforce restrictions tied to the \u201clocally trained\u201d (LTR) status starting in 2026, sources tell Sheep Esports<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What does this mean?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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This means that the LTR status will completely cease to exist, allowing any player from Europe to compete in any regional league without restrictions. With this change, Riot is removing the rule that ensured national representation within each league\u2019s player pool.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It will now be permissible, for instance, to field five players from a different region. For example, five Spanish players could now play together in the NLC, even if none of them had previously competed there. However, teams must still include at least three players from within the EMEA region, meaning it will not be possible to build a roster composed entirely of non-EMEA imports such as South Korean, Chinese, or American players \u2014 those are still considered imports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Some ERLs may choose to implement their own local restrictions, but Riot will no longer enforce the LTR status and its conditions. According to our sources, the LFL is one of the leagues fully lifting all such restrictions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

How were LTR rules enforced until now?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Until the 2024 season, rules required every team to include at least two LTR players on their roster. In 2025, Riot changed the rule, giving leagues the ability to enforce stricter conditions on a case-by-case basis, allowing them to raise the minimum to three LTR players. In practice, this meant it was impossible to field a fully foreign roster made up entirely of newcomers. Most ERLs, including the LFL, NLC, and Superliga, required teams to have at least two locally trained players. The Benelux Road of Legends, for example, went a step further this summer split by mandating a minimum of three.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Technically, however, it was already possible for a team to compete without local players. For example, TeamOrangeGaming did so this summer in the Prime League, fielding no German, Swiss, or Austrian players. The purpose of the LTR requirement was to encourage teams to recruit from the domestic talent pool and to limit the number of imports, helping national leagues build identities around local figures who could stay long-term.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The reason teams could compete without local players was that foreign players had a way to obtain LTR status. It was obtained by players competing in a foreign ERL (for example, a Spanish player in the French LFL) under conditions detailed in Article 1.3 of the 2025 ERL Rulebook<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n