KICK & Riot Games Form a Partnership For a New Era of Esports

Esports keep on growing. In recent years the domain of Esports is on a constant rise. It is all thanks to the people and companies who operate in the given domain. The latest boost to the entire world of Esports is coming from the direction of the streaming platform KICK, and one of the biggest game developing companies in the world, Riot Games.

The two have announced a partnership that should give Esports a new form, and bring forth a brighter future. Riot Games is behind some of the most popular Esports titles such as VALORANT and League of Legends. Their partnership with KICK will give fans more opportunity to watch, stream, co-stream, and engage with all of their games and Esports. In the past, Riot Games has already partnered with other streaming platforms, and now with KICK their global reach just got expanded as far as streaming goes.

As far as KICKs global reach goes, you need to know that the platform has plenty of fans all over the world. The biggest base of them is found at LATAM, MENA, and Europe. People from Riot Games saw KICK streaming platform as an ideal way to get closer to the fans in those areas. The number of viewers, streamers, users, and creators is expected to grow in coming weeks and months, and both KICK and Riot Games are looking forward to seeing the results of their partnership.

Reactions From KICK

KICK is a streaming platform that entered the domain of Esports broadcasting in 2022. Its goal from the start was to compete with the big fish, and so far it has done an amazing job. Early on, it was believed that it is an impossible task to compete with the likes of Twitch. Yet, with its creator first approach, KICK has managed to carve a niche in streaming for itself, and their partnership with Riot Games is just another stepping stone in their rise to the top.

The KICK & Riot games partnership has seen KICK getting promoted as the official broadcasting rangership for Riot Games, which will oversee sending numerous world class games to KICK, where millions of fans will be able to enjoy different Esports. As we mentioned, Riot Games owns some of the biggest Esports titles in the world. From now on, KICK will be in charge of bringing different worldwide and regional Esports events with games such as League of Legends, VALORANT, and TFT at the forefront of action. KICK has a global audience that covers part of the worlds where Riot Games had lesser influence, and now those fans will have LoL, VALORANT, and other RG titles brought to their doorsteps.

With League of Legends remaining one of the most popular Esports in the world and attracting millions of fans worldwide, streaming League of Legends content on KICK gives the platform access to one of gaming's largest, most engaged audiences

The Riot Games Perspective

Esports growth in recent years has been nothing short of spectacular. Riot Games was one of the companies behind it, and they feel that there's still more to achieve as far as growing their community goes. This is one of the main reasons why they have partnered with KICK, and made them one of the company's leading broadcasters. With KICK now under their wing, the number of communities Riot Games can serve has expanded and the goal of bringing more players, fans, and moments together in the future will be achieved. At the end of the day, the company wouldn't be able to exist without its numerous fans, creators, and players.

The partnership will officially kick off with the 2026 edition of MSI. KICK will be one of the partners in charge of broadcasts as far as LoL Esports, VALORANT, and TFT go. The best part for everyone involved is that this partnership doesn't only cover watching VALORANT streams on KICK, LoL streams, or TFT streams, but also opens a new avenue for creators. With KICK & Riot Games partnership made official, content creators will now have the possibility to explore new avenues thanks to the expanded creator and partner programs tied to League, VALORANT, TFT, and Wild Rift.

While Riot Games will be looking to tap into unexplored markets through KICK, to many fans the viewing experience on this platform is going to be familiar. Riot Games will not be changing their standard approach to broadcasting, and the drops and incentives that fans are used to seeing on their other streams will be available on KICK too. For those who will now be looking to become streamers on KICK in the eve of their latest expansion, they need to know that Riot Games will be applying the same moderation standards and practices they've been using on other platforms too. The end goal is one positive experience for everyone involved and we're sure that both KICK and Riot Games are more than able to achieve that.

What Will the Broadcast Focus On?

The official partnership between KICK and Riot Games has been officially signed, and it is already paying its first dividends during the League of Legends Mid-seasonal Invitation (MSI) 2026. The MSI 2026 is just the first major broadcast that KICK will now be a part of. The rest of their focus will be spread across other Riot Games titles such as VALORANT, TFT, and Wild Rift Esports. Riot Games officials have made it clear about what their goal and motivation is. Their statement said as much:" KICK is the primary platform for many passionate esports fans, especially in LATAM, MENA, and Europe. Bringing KICK into the mix of our global platform lineup helps us better serve those communities and brings more players together around the moments, matches, and creators they care about most."

As mentioned, the company's standard practices tied to their other streaming partners and broadcasters will apply to KICK too. That's why fans should eagerly await for their first series of drops and incentives. From the end of June, 2026, KICK is now the official streaming partner of Riot Games and as such will have all the benefits as their other platforms with no disparity coming into question. The official RG statement adds: "The viewing experience on KICK will feel familiar to players, with access to the same drops and incentives available during our global event broadcasts on other platforms."

Riot Games are one of the leaders in the domain of game development and Esports, and as such they were able to recognize the industry standards coming our way. That's why, once they've noticed that co-streaming is taking over the broadcasting domain, they decided to take a piece of the pie for themselves. In the Riot Game's ecosystem it is not a rare occurrence that a co-streaming event has more audience than their official broadcast. This is a non issue for the company as now they have their partners in streaming, and all of the views are coming their way at the end of the day. The fact that some streaming platforms were getting more views than the company's official channels was one of the reasons why they've partnered with many streaming companies in the first place.

What the Future Holds For Riot & KICK?

The fact that Riot Games decided to partner with KICK could be a sign of a new future to come for the company. At the end of the day, as far as streaming goes, KICK does it a tad bit differently compared to their main competitors. If you didn't know, KICK was founded back in 2022 as a direct rival to Twitch, by Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani. These two men are behind a company that's called Easygo Entertainment Pty Ltd, and are also co-founders, and co-owners of one of the biggest online casinos and sports betting websites, Stake.

It is no surprise that KICK's and Riot Games' partnership is coming to light at this moment, as betting restrictions have been eased as far as LoL and VALORANT go. Of course, during the live broadcasts it is still not allowed to show any betting sponsors, but it is no secret that Esports betting markets are growing as we speak far beyond the two mentioned sports. In the past Riot Games have been putting some restrictions as far as sports betting goes, but the way climate feels right now, that might be changing in the future.

A clear sign that Esports and online sports betting are already co-existing is the fact that one of the biggest Esports teams in the world, Team Vitality is having Stake as their main shirt sponsor. Of course, they are not able to sport the company's logo during the League of Legends competitions due to Riot Games restrictions, but the way things stand right now, that might change in the future.

Also, at the end of the day, KICK has managed to carve its place in a very competitive niche in a very short span of time, and it has all happened due to its creators-first policies that also come with quite looser moderation compared to Twitch or YouTube. At the same time, Riot Games stated that their moderation standards will apply the same way to KICK as they do to their other streaming and broadcasting partners.

While there's no official change in the Riot games stance of online gambling and Esports, as we said, the change might be imminent as far as the company's longstanding policies go. John Needham, the President of Publishing & Esports at Riot Games said as much himself. While the company stayed from online gambling for years, the pressure from teams finally made a change within the company. When asked about it, Needham said: "Historically, this has been a restricted sponsorship category, and Riot has not engaged with betting companies. Teams have asked us to reconsider our stance, and after years of analysis to ensure we got it right, we agreed it was time to open up this category."

Everyone who was even remotely into Esports and sports betting knew that this change was not only necessary, but something the team playing the games, and the fans watching them wanted. Because of this, Riot Games decided to take a rational stance on the subject, and Needham added: "The reality is that betting activity already exists around our sports and will continue whether we engage with it or not. We believe it’s better to engage in allowing betting sponsorships, thoughtfully, carefully, and with the right protections, than to sit on the sidelines while risks to fans and integrity go unchecked."

While the company retains the stance that their official broadcasting channels will remain betting free, their latest KICK partnership suggests otherwise. With the future of broadcasting now being in co-streaming, it is clear we will be seeing more and more sports betting tied to Esports, even coming from Riot Games directly. Yes, they have stated that rules of moderations will apply to KICK the same way they do to other broadcasters, and we're sure they will, but that's not what made KICK famous.

The partnership between KICK and Riot games is now made official, and the fruits of their collaboration is yet to be seen. As far as MSI 2026 goes, it all went as well as possible, and more is expected with future Esports events. There is no official data on financial terms of KICK & Riot games partnership, with only thing known is that while they're eying a global presence, so far KICK has restrictions on broadcast tied to China, and South Korea.