Riot Games came up with major changes to the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) 2021. This year’s season format includes a new three-week tournament called the LCS Lock In. This competition will begin with the group stage, where the top two teams of the last LCS season will form their group opponents.
LCS Lock In format is as below:
- Group Stage
- Ten teams will take part in the tournament: FlyQuest, Cloud9, CLG, Team Liquid, Dignitas, Golden Guardians, Evil Geniuses, Immortals, 100 Thieves, and TSM.
- Teams will be divided into two groups by the top two teams of the last LCS season- TSM and FlyQuest.
- Best of one.
- Top four teams from each group will be qualified for the Knockout Stage.
- Knockout Stage/ Playoffs
- Eight teams will participate in this stage.
- Single elimination bracket.
- Quarterfinals will be best of three.
- Semi-final and final matches will be best of five.
Winners earn $50,000 plus an additional $50,000 for the charity of their choice. In case of tie, the winner will receive a side selection for the fifth game of the regular season. The LCS Lock In will take place from January 15th thru January 31st.
Then, the 2021 Spring Split Regular Season will be from February 5th to March 14th. It has been extended to five games a day over three days: Friday Night League, Saturday and Sunday.
Instead of the Spring Split Playoffs, NA will have a Mid-Season Showdown. It will feature the top six teams of the season and winners will earn the first 2021 LCS title champions title and qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI).
Summer Split Regular Season will take place from June 4th to August 1st. During this season, team will compete over nine weeks with a triple Round Robin. The year ends with the final Summer Split Playoffs, where teams are propagated by their combined Spring and Summer regular-season records.
