South Korea’s top League of Legends league is entering a new broadcasting era — and its home arena is getting a new name to go with it.
Riot Games announced on December 16, 2025 that it had signed a five-year partnership with Naver and streaming platform SOOP, running from 2026 through 2030, according to a report by ZDNet Korea. While the exact financial terms weren’t disclosed, the deal is described as one of the largest in esports history and among the biggest in Korean professional sports overall.
Under the agreement, live domestic broadcasts of the LoL Champions Korea (LCK) league will be available exclusively on Naver and SOOP starting in 2026 — a major shift from the league’s previous, more open streaming landscape. YouTube’s official LCK channel will continue to carry highlights and behind-the-scenes content, and international events such as First Stand, the Mid-Season Invitational and the World Championship will still stream on YouTube as before, but week-to-week domestic matches move behind the two-platform arrangement.
As part of the deal, Naver — now an official LCK sponsor — secured naming rights to LoL Park, the league’s dedicated arena in Seoul. Starting in 2026, the venue will be rebranded “Chzzk LoL Park,” after Naver’s own streaming platform Chzzk (치지직). Naver said it plans to build out dedicated spaces and branded seating zones reflecting the Chzzk identity inside the venue, and is reportedly exploring tying Riot account integration to services like merchandise drops, shopping and ticket reservations — which would mark a first for a domestic platform.
SOOP, for its part, said it will lean into its strength as a streamer-centric platform, expanding streaming partnerships with individual LCK teams to deepen fan engagement, encouraging co-streaming, and continuing interactive features like match predictions and Player of the Match voting, alongside quality-of-life additions such as a “time machine” rewind function and multi-device support.
“This partnership is an important milestone that elevates the trust and scale of the entire LCK ecosystem, bringing us closer to our goal of premium content that spans generations,” said Lee Jung-hoon, LCK Secretary General, in the announcement. “We will work together with Naver and SOOP, two platforms that represent Korea, to deliver greater value to LCK fans.”
The rebranded venue arrives just as Korea’s international esports calendar heats up: the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational runs June 28 through July 12 in Daejeon, followed by the Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia in July, the Asian Games in September, and the League of Legends World Championship in the United States in November.
Source: Jung Jin-sung, ZDNet Korea, December 16, 2025.
