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Riot Games announce host cities for LEC spring and summer finals

Riot Games will hold their LEC spring finals in Budapest, Hungary on Apr. 25-26, and the LEC summer finals in Malmö, Sweden on Aug. 28-29, the organisation announced on Thursday.

The LEC's Malmö stopover is set to take place at the Malmö Arena, which boasts a 12,500 capacity. Before the franchising era, the league held its 2018 finals at the Copenhagen Arena, where Fnatic beat G2 Esports in front of 10,000 fans.

As for the Budapest event, although the venue is yet to be announced, the location caters to a previously neglected fanbase of League of Legends live shows.

Hosting cities are set to financially benefit over the course of the two events. According to Riot Games, the LEC's Rotterdam stopover netted the city €2.4 million over two days, with 87 percent of spectators travelling in from outside the city.

Alongside Burson Cohn & Wolfe Sports, Riot Games developed a host city program for the LEC stopovers, pitching the events to cities across Europe. The LEC garnered interest from 40 cities, with Rotterdam and Athens winning their bids in 2019.

"This is the outcome of our whole city bidding process, the first time that we have been working for more than a year with candidates," Riot Games head of business sponsorships and development Alban Dechelotte said

On the selection process, Dechelotte said that the selection process catered to the needs of their players, fans and sponsors. Among the 130 teams that expressed their interest, 10 were shortlisted for 2020, with more to follow in 2021.