It seems like the rumors were true as the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) has announced they’ll be changing up their format for the upcoming 2021 season. The changes include a pre-season tournament, an increase in matches, a mid-season showdown and more.
Lock-In Tournament
One of the first changes we’ll get to see is the Lock-In Tournament. There our 10 LCS teams will take each other on in a tournament that’ll run from January 15 until January 31. The tournament will feature a group stage with the eight best teams moving on to the quarter finals. The Lock-In Tournament features a 150.000 dollar prize pool, with an additional 50.000 dollar going to charity.
Spring Split and Mid-Season Showdown
The Spring Split regular season will remain mostly the same, being played over six weeks with five games a day, but three days a week. We’ll also get to see the Mid-Season Showdown as a replacement for the Spring playoffs and Spring Finals. The winner of this Mid-Season Showdown will be the North American representative for the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational.
Summer Split and LCS Championship
Lastly we’ve got the Summer Split regular season, spanning nine (!) weeks running from June 4 to August 1, with a triple Round Robin format and, just like the Spring Split regular season, three match days a week with five matches being played every day. The Summer Split finals and playoffs will be replaced with the LCS Championship, with the participants picked based on their results in both Spring and Summer.
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