In 2021, the LCS is coming back with major changes to our season format. While format alone won’t drive international success, we believe these changes, combined with an [overhauled amateur ecosystem][1], will help develop NA into the competitive region we all want it to be.
[1]: https://lolesports.com/article/2021-amateur-ecosystem-updates/blt69197d4426878cfd
New Season At-A-Glance
======================
- We’re introducing **LCS Lock In**, a three-week season kick-off
tournament to determine who’s the team to beat in 2021 and who earns
a $150K winner-takes-all grand prize
- We’re expanding the regular season to **five games a day, three days
a week (Friday, Night League at 3pm PT; Saturday and Sunday at 1pm
PT)**
- The season will still be split into two parts, but Spring and Summer
regular season records will be combined to seed the end-of-summer LCS
Championship
- The regular season begins with a condensed Spring Split, which
consists of a double Round Robin over six weeks, instead of the
normal nine weeks. This shortened season still has a major impact as
teams will be playing the same number of games as last year
- Spring Playoffs and Finals will transform into the **LCS Mid-Season
Showdown**. The MSS winner will earn the year’s first LCS
championship title and be the only team to represent NA at 2021’s
first global competition (the Mid-Season Invitational)
- The new Summer Split regular season will consist of a triple Round
Robin over nine weeks, and give teams one more shot to rise to the
top of NA and onto the global stage
- We’ll cap off the year with the LCS Championship, which pulls the
top-seeded teams from Spring and Summer combined. The winner takes
home the year’s second LCS championship title, and the top three
teams qualify into the World Championship
The LCS Lock In (January 15 - 31)
=================================
The 2021 LCS season will kick off with **LCS Lock In**, a three-week tournament with bragging rights, money, charity, and side selection on the line.
Lock In will kick off with a group stage, where the top two teams from the previous year draft their group opponents (for 2021, those teams will be TSM and FlyQuest). Each group will play in a four-day Round Robin.
The top four from each group will be seeded into an eight-team, single-elimination bracket to determine the Lock In Champion. The winner starts 2021 off with a bang -- securing a $150K prize (plus an additional $50K towards a charity of their choice) and side selection for Game 5 of the regular season (if head-to-head is tied).
Spring Split Regular Season (February 5 - March 14)
===================================================
LCS teams have six weeks to either bounce back from their performance during LCS Lock In, or stay at their peak. The goal: earn the year’s first LCS championship title and represent our region at the year’s first global competition.
The new Spring Split will be expanded into five games a day, across three days: Friday Night League at 3pm PT; Saturday and Sunday at 1pm PT.
Mid-Season Showdown (March 20 - April 11)
=========================================
Halfway through the competitive year, it’s time to determine who will carry the NA flag at the Mid-Season Invitational.
The MSS will feature the top six teams from Spring Split in a double-elimination bracket nearly identical to 2020 Spring Playoffs, with fifth and sixth seeds starting in the lower bracket. But in 2021, first seed must play fourth seed; side selection always goes to the team that most recently dropped from the upper bracket; and ties are broken by seeding.
The winner will be crowned the first 2021 LCS title champion and qualify into MSI.
Summer Split Regular Season (June 4 - August 1)
===============================================
During Summer Split, teams will be challenged with a triple Round Robin over nine weeks of play, which will determine who deserves a shot at the year’s second LCS championship title and who will represent NA at the World Championship.
LCS Championship (August 7 - 29)
================================
The LCS year will end with one final battle to determine who is the best team in the LCS, and which top three teams will qualify into Worlds.
Teams will be seeded by their combined Spring and Summer regular season records into this double-elimination ultimate showdown, with several format adjustments from the 2020 Summer Playoffs’ format. These adjustments include: an inverted format ensuring teams that meet again will do so later in the tournament; side selection always goes to the team that drops from the upper bracket; and game days have shifted to prevent most teams from playing twice in one week.
We feel like these are some of the largest structural changes we’ve made to the LCS since 2016, and we’re excited to see how they play out in 2021. We’ll see you in January.
