L.ACE announces Chinese organization team limit

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

L.ACE, an organization comprised of representatives from League of Legends esports organizations in China, made two announcements today. One was the affirmation of inter-regional player flow (known better as the two foreign player per team rule), and the second was the unveiling of Chinese LPL's compliance with the colloquially titled "One Team Rule."

The single ownership rule of clubs (in China)

The single onwership rule of NA, EU and the Garena region has been working since the end of 2013. The revolution of korean OGN this time is actually the execution of this rule, so this rule has been put into use all over the world.Taking the example of the rule in EU and NA, this rule is only put into use in the Chinese main league, LPL and LSPL. Every LPL club could at most own one LSPL team. If the LSPL team,which is owned by one LPL club, makes it into LPL, it would be under effect of this single ownership rule, and one team have to transfer ownership. The rule in Riot regions is that the right of the secondary team's ownership will probably be deprived. In LPL and in international tournaments, it could result in organizations being forbidden to take part in the games. Single ownership is a very strict rule; it was notarized in team registries and financial contracts, and any certain evidence could become the basis of punishment.

The supplement explanation of the single ownership for LPL clubs:

1. The name of the corporation

LPL clubs must belong to an independent corporation. One corporation may not operate more than one LPL club.

2. The name of club

All of LPL clubs' names must have their own independence. It is not allowed that some clubs have the same name or make people feel that one belongs to the other because of the names

3. Legal backer/shareholder

Every LPL club must have an independent legal person/shareholder. It is not permitted that more than one club have the same legal backer/shareholder.

4. Coach/manager

Every LPL club must have independent coaching and management staff. It is not permitted that one coach/manager work for more than one club

5. The base of club

Every LPL team must have their own independent base of operations. It is not permitted that more than one club owns the same base of operations.

6. The rule of transfer

Every LPL club must observe the rule of LACE League transfer system. It's not permitted that teams make personal transfers between clubs.

—Translation work by Shaonian

Under these guidelines, clubs like World Elite with more than one team in LPL or LSPL will be deprived of team ownership and will most likely have to sell one of their two teams. It is unclear how these rules will affect the end of the player transfer season, as it seemed likely that many organizations were seeking to create multiple teams to compete in the coming season.