Pacific Championship Series
Esports league in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Pacific Championship Series (PCS) is a professional esports league for League of Legends teams competing in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. It is a tier-two league in the League of Legends competitive ecosystem, with a path to promotion to the tier-one League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP).
 | |
| Formerly | LMS and LST |
|---|---|
| Game | League of Legends |
| Founded | 19 December 2019 |
| First season | Spring 2020 |
| Organising body |
|
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Most recent champion |  Deep Cross Gaming (3rd title) |
| Most titles | PSG Talon (8 titles) |
| Sponsor | Chunghwa Telecom |
| Promotion to | League of Legends Championship Pacific |
| Relegation to | Pacific Challengers League |
| Pacific Championship Series | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 英雄聯盟太平洋職業聯賽 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 英雄联盟太平洋职业联赛 | ||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | League of Legends Pacific Professional League | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Riot Games, the game's developer, created the league in 2019. This followed an announcement by Garena – the game's distributor in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia – that it planned to merge the League of Legends Master Series (LMS) and League of Legends SEA Tour (LST) into a single tournament jointly run with Riot Games.
Initially, ten teams competed in the regular season, but this was reduced to eight teams in the 2024 spring season and finally seven in the 2024 summer season. In its final year of tier-one competition, the top six teams from the PCS regular season advanced to the playoffs and were joined by the top three teams from Japan and the top two teams from Oceania. Oceania became a part of the PCS region in 2022, with the League of Legends Circuit Oceania (LCO) being downgraded to a tier-two league secondary to the PCS. Japan followed suit the next year, with the League of Legends Japan League being similarly downgraded and integrated into the PCS.
Riot Games announced in 2024 that the LCP would replace the PCS as the Asia-Pacific's tier-one league from 2025 onward. The PCS would become a domestic league for teams in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau – like its predecessor the LMS – and, along with the LJL and VCS, would join the LCO as a tier-two league with a path to promotion to the LCP. Additionally, a wildcard tournament would be held for teams in Southeast Asia, excluding Vietnam, for a chance to qualify for the LCP.
History
Prior to the PCS
The first professional esports league for League of Legends players in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia was the Garena Premier League (GPL), which ran from 2012 to mid-2018. Teams from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau were given their own league, the League of Legends Master Series (LMS), in late 2014.[1] Three years later, the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) was upgraded to a Tier 1 tournament and Vietnam became its own competitive region, separate from the rest of Southeast Asia.[2][3] The GPL was rebranded as the League of Legends SEA Tour (LST) in mid-2018.[4]
Formation
Garena announced on 25 September 2019 that it intended to merge the LMS and LST into a single league, the details of which would be released near the end of the year.[5] On 19 December, Riot Games announced the name of the new league, the Pacific Championship Series (PCS),[6][7][8] and a list of nine of the ten teams that would compete in it.[9][10] Berjaya Dragons was announced as the last team joining the PCS on 17 January 2020.[11][12]
Inaugural season
The 2020 season was postponed until further notice on 29 January due to the COVID-19 outbreak.[13][14] It was later announced on 18 February that the 2020 season would officially begin on 29 February.[15]
On 13 February it was announced that G-Rex had disbanded its League of Legends team and forfeited its spot in the PCS as a result of internal restructuring by their parent company Emperor Esports Stars.[16] Five days later, Machi Esports was announced as G-Rex's replacement.[15]
Expansion
Riot Games announced on 18 November 2022 that the PCS would expand to include Oceania, beginning in 2023. Two major changes were made: The winners of the League of Legends Circuit Oceania would no longer directly qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) and the World Championship (Worlds). Instead, the LCO's top two teams would have to compete in the PCS playoffs to gain a spot. Additionally, LCO players would have their residencies changed from "Oceania" to "PCS", meaning they would no longer take import slots on PCS teams, and vice versa.[17]
On 26 November 2023, Riot Games announced that the League of Legends Japan League would join the PCS playoffs in a similar manner to the LCO. From 2024 onwards, the top three teams from the LJL would have to compete in the PCS playoffs for a spot at MSI and Worlds. Additionally, LJL players would have their residencies changed from "Japan" to "PCS".[18]
Teams
At the beginning, ten teams were selected by Riot Games as permanent franchise partners of the PCS.[9][10] However, it was announced on 4 August 2020 that a promotion tournament would be introduced for the 2021 season to promote regional competitiveness.[19]
After the PCS became a tier-two league in 2025, partner teams in the tier-one LCP began to field academy teams in the PCS. Academy teams are ineligible for promotion to the LCP or relegation to a tier-three regional league.[20]
2026 season
Starting from the 2026 season, only teams that qualify for the main tournament (Spring or Summer of knockout stage) will be included.
| Team | Joined |
|---|---|
| CFO Academy[a] |
23 January 2025 |
 Frank Esports |
28 January 2022 |
| SillySilly Gaming |
8 April 2026 |
| wangting If wangting that qualify for the Spring Season |
19 March 2025 |
| Teams that qualify for the Spring Season | 21 April 2026 |
| Teams that qualify for the Spring Season | 21 April 2026 |
| Teams that qualify for the Spring Season | 21 April 2026 |
| Teams that qualify for the Spring Season | 21 April 2026 |
Former teams
| Team | Joined | Left | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| G-Rex |
19 December 2019 | 13 February 2020 | Withdrew[b] |
 Resurgence |
19 December 2019 | 8 September 2020 | Relegated |
| ahq eSports Club |
19 December 2019 | 26 January 2021 | Withdrew |
 Nova Esports |
19 December 2019 | 5 February 2021 | Withdrew |
 Berjaya Dragons |
17 January 2020 | 16 November 2021 | Withdrew |
| Hong Kong Attitude |
19 December 2019 | 24 November 2021 | Withdrew |
| BOOM Esports |
5 February 2021 | 28 January 2022 | Withdrew |
 Liyab Esports |
19 December 2019 | 28 January 2022 | Withdrew |
| Machi Esports |
18 February 2020 | 28 January 2022 | Withdrew |
| SEM9 |
16 November 2021 | 3 December 2022 | Withdrew |
| Meta Falcon Team |
28 January 2022 | 12 January 2023 | Withdrew |
| Dewish Team[c] |
19 December 2019 | 7 October 2023 | Relegated |
| Impunity Esports |
8 September 2020 | 8 October 2023 | Relegated |
| Nate9527 |
6 October 2023 | 19 January 2024 | Withdrew[b] |
| PSG Talon Academy |
7 October 2023 | 19 January 2024 | Withdrew[d] |
| Beyond Gaming |
26 January 2021 | 20 April 2024 | Withdrew |
| J Team |
19 December 2019 | 1 November 2024 | Withdrew |
| Hungkuang Falcon |
23 January 2025 | 19 March 2025 | Relegated |
| PSG Talon[e][f] |
19 December 2019 | 3 November 2024 | Promoted[g] |
| CTBC Flying Oyster |
27 January 2022 | 3 November 2024 | Promoted[g] |
| Deep Cross Gaming |
28 January 2022 | 3 October 2025 | Promoted[h] |
| PSG Talon Academy |
23 January 2025 | 17 November 2025 | Removed |
| Ground Zero Gaming[i] |
23 January 2025 | 22 December 2025 | Promoted[j] |
| Hell Pigs |
12 January 2023 | Before 2026 Spring | Withdrew |
| West Point Esports[k][l] |
17 January 2023 | Before 2026 Spring | Withdrew |
Results
| Year | Split | Champions | Runners-up | Third-place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 tournament (2020–2024) | ||||
| 2020 | Spring | Talon Esports |
Machi Esports |
ahq eSports Club |
| Summer | Machi Esports |
PSG Talon |
J Team | |
| 2021 | Spring | PSG Talon |
Beyond Gaming |
Machi Esports |
| Summer | PSG Talon |
Beyond Gaming |
J Team | |
| 2022 | Spring | PSG Talon |
CTBC Flying Oyster |
J Team |
| Summer | CTBC Flying Oyster |
Beyond Gaming |
PSG Talon | |
| 2023 | Spring | PSG Talon |
Frank Esports |
CTBC Flying Oyster |
| Summer | PSG Talon |
CTBC Flying Oyster |
Beyond Gaming | |
| 2024 | Spring | PSG Talon |
 SoftBank Hawks |
CTBC Flying Oyster |
| Summer | PSG Talon |
SoftBank Hawks |
Frank Esports | |
| Tier 2 tournament (2025–present) | ||||
| 2025 | Split 1 | Deep Cross Gaming |
West Point Esports |
Frank Esports |
| Split 2 | Deep Cross Gaming |
Frank Esports |
West Point Esports | |
| Split 3 | Deep Cross Gaming |
Frank Esports |
PSG Talon Academy | |
| 2026 | Spring | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Summer | TBA | TBA | TBA | |
Number of top three finishes
denotes a team, country or region that no longer competes in the PCS.
By team
| Pos | Team |  |
 |
 |
T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | PSG Talon[f] |
7 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 2. | Deep Cross Gaming |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 3. | CTBC Flying Oyster |
1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 4. | Machi Esports |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 5. | Beyond Gaming |
0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 6. | Frank Esports |
0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 7. | SoftBank Hawks |
0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8. | West Point Esports |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9. | J Team |
0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 10. | ahq eSports Club |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 10. | PSG Talon Academy |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
By country or region
| Pos | Country / Region | |
|
|
T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Taiwan[m] |
9 | 7 | 10 | 26 |
| 2. | Hong Kong |
4 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| 3. | Japan |
0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Notes
- Academy team of CTBC Flying Oyster, which competes in the League of Legends Championship Pacific.
- Withdrew before the start of their inaugural season.
- Dewish Team was known as Alpha Esports from 2019 to 2021, and Hurricane Gaming in 2022.
- Academy teams cannot be promoted to a league where their parent organisation is competing. PSG Talon was unable to sell its academy team's PCS spot before the start of the 2024 season.
- PSG Talon was formed from a merger between Talon Esports and PSG Esports on 18 June 2020.
- PSG Talon was previously based in Hong Kong but moved to Taiwan in 2023.
- Became a partner team of the League of Legends Championship Pacific.
- Won the free-for-all bracket of the 2026 League of Legends Championship Pacific promotion series.
- Ground Zero Gaming's League of Legends team was previously based in Australia and competed in the League of Legends Circuit Oceania before moving to Taiwan in 2025.
- On 22 December 2025, Ground Zero Gaming was promoted to the League of Legends Championship Pacific for the 2026 season as a direct replacement for PSG Talon, which was removed due to financial issues.[21][22]
- West Point Esports is a Philippine organisation, but its League of Legends team is based in Taiwan.
- The PCS refers to Taiwan as "Taipei" in its official publications.