TL;DR
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- The 2023 LCS **Spring Split** begins on **January 26!** Broadcast days will shift to Thursdays and Fridays, extending to Wednesdays during Super Weeks.
- LCS Spring Finals will take place on **April 8-9** — venue information will be released closer to the start of Spring Split.
- The **LCS Arena** has been renamed the **Riot Games Arena** as we welcome our friends from VCT Americas. Expect to see a completely reimagined stage beginning at the **Global Kickoff Event** on **January 10-11.**
Hello! I’m Raul Fernandez, Head of Esports for the Americas region. I oversee all esports operations in North America, Latin America and Brazil — which includes VCT Americas and, of course, the LCS. I have had the pleasure of working alongside LCS Commissioner Jackie Felling and her incredible team as they prepare for the 2023 season.
In total, I’ve been with Riot for eight years, and I’m no stranger to big bets within the organization. With the announcement of [global esports broadcast changes][1], I wanted to provide some NA-specific context, for our fans who are wondering what this all means for them. And hey, why don’t we break a few bits of news, too? Let’s get into it.
LCS MOVES TO THURSDAYS AND FRIDAYS
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Beginning with Spring Split 2023, the LCS will shift its primary broadcast days to Thursdays and Fridays with a start time of 12pm PT / 3pm ET.
To fully explain why this is happening, let’s rewind the clock. When the LCS debuted in 2013, the global esports landscape was very different. And over the past decade, as the wider gaming ecosystem has grown around us, we noticed that the viewing habits and daily schedules of our fans evolved as well.
A recent deep dive we commissioned confirmed our suspicion: viewership habits and fan expectations had changed. We learned that LCS viewers consume plenty of content on the weekdays, and in similar amounts to their weekend habits. Additionally, peak viewing times have moved to match the changing lifestyles of our fans. In fact, the modeling clearly shows that by shifting the LCS to Thursday and Friday and removing overlapping broadcasts, the league gains access to more available fans and viewers than if we had stayed on the weekend broadcast schedule.
So there’s a viewership incentive to make a midweek change, but to us, there’s also a larger reason to plant the LCS flag on Thursdays and Fridays. It has less to do with where we’ve been and what we’ve done, and more to do with where we’re going.
To reach the ambitious goals we’ve set for the next 10 years of LCS, we need the space to redefine ourselves with legacy fans and earn resonance with new ones. As always, no change is set in stone, and we’ll continue incorporating fan feedback into our future thinking. But we firmly believe moving LCS to weekday matches gives the league an opportunity to reshape its identity, opening new avenues for the broadcast and associated creative concepts that we’ve started to explore with our players, teams, fans, and partners.
The broadcast will continue to build on the positive feedback we received to changes over the summer and expand further. Expect even more eclectic content and conversations from our charismatic talent as we create a broadcast experience placed squarely at the intersection of competition and culture. I can’t wait for the team to share its work with you very soon!
One piece I can partially reveal: the LCS Arena is getting a full refresh starting in 2023! Next year, the league will be sharing its space with VCT Americas, so we felt the time was right for a makeover, featuring a stage that transforms to fit the custom layout of each esport. The new interior — now dubbed the **Riot Games Arena** — will debut on stream during the **Global Kickoff Event** on **January 10-11**. I don’t want to spoil the surprise for fans, but let’s say that the new 18’ high stage with over 1000 LED tiles is pushing the space to the absolute limit.
2023 LCS SPRING SPLIT SCHEDULE & FORMAT
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While the days have changed, the LCS competitive format will largely stay the same. In 2023, both Spring Split and Summer Splits will be Double Round Robins over eight weeks of regular season play, with two three-day Super Weeks each split. Split Playoff formats also remain unchanged from 2022 — the winners of Spring Playoffs will represent LCS at the Mid-Season Invitational, and the top three finishers in the LCS Championship go to Worlds.
Here’s the full calendar for the 2023 LCS Season — you can watch every match live on [lolesports.com][2], [Twitch][3] and [YouTube][4]. And keep an eye on LCS broadcast and social media for the location of the Spring Split Final. See you in 2023!
**SPRING SPLIT WEEK 1**
- Day 1 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Thursday, January 26
- Day 2 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Friday, January 27
**SPRING SPLIT WEEK 2**
- Day 3 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Thursday, February 2
- Day 4 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Friday, February 3
**SPRING SPLIT WEEK 3**
- Day 5 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Thursday, February 9
- Day 6 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Friday, February 10
**SPRING SPLIT SUPER WEEK 4**
- Day 7 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Wednesday, February 15
- Day 8 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Thursday, February 16
- Day 9 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Friday, February 17
**SPRING SPLIT WEEK 5**
- Day 10 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Thursday, February 23
- Day 11 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Friday, February 24
**SPRING SPLIT WEEK 6**
- Day 12 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Thursday, March 2
- Day 13 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Friday, March 3
**SPRING SPLIT WEEK 7**
- Day 14 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Thursday, March 9
- Day 15 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Friday, March 10
**SPRING SPLIT SUPER WEEK 8**
- Day 16 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Wednesday, March 15
- Day 17 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Thursday, March 16
- Day 18 — 12 pm PT / 3pm ET Friday, March 17
**SPRING SPLIT PLAYOFFS (match start time TBD)**
- Week 1 — March 23-26
- Week 2 — March 30-31
- Finals Weekend — April 8-9
[1]: https://lolesports.com/article/esports-broadcast-update/blt147997d46887e416
[2]: https://lolesports.com/
[3]: https://www.twitch.tv/lcs
[4]: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSF_aFGIIIoWY30GVV19TKA
