LCS to move back to Best-of-Three Format Starting from 2024 Summer Split
The League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) is set to transition back into Best-of-Three format come this Summer Split. This move was first reported by journalist and content creator Travis Gafford and will see a departure from the traditional Best-of-Ones format that both the LCS and LEC have been running since 2018.
The news was generally well-received with much excitement and enthusiasm from fans of the product. With this year’s reduction in the total number of LCS teams from 10 to 8, many are of their opinion that this would be the best moment for this change – to revitalise the LCS’s dying viewership.
During an AMA in early February, current LCS commissioner Mark Zimmerman addressed the topic of format. He spoke up on that, stating that the team was ‘open to exploring’.
The decision to retain the Bo1 format, a format that few are fans of due to the chaotic and unpredictable nature of a Bo1 in a game such as League of Legends, where a single misstep is sometimes all it takes.
However, Zimmerman alluded that the decision to retain Bo1 for the Spring Split at least, was due to the numerous changes that have already taken place within the product since he was brought on as commissioner.
LCS Shifting to Bo3
According to Gafford’s report, the changes are set to take place in the LCS for the upcoming Summer Split (TBA). However, the format change comes with a caveat. The LCS Summer Split for 2024 will run in single round-robin format as opposed to the current format of double round-robin.
The change is most likely to accommodate for the increased series’ durations of now being Bo3s. This also means that the LCS will most likely continue to operate on a 2 day per week schedule as opposed to other popular leagues such as the LCK or LPL, in which game days take up more days of the week.
Success in Revitalization
Since Zimmerman has come on as the new commissioner for the LCS, according to Esports Charts, his tenure is marked with great success in rising average viewership. Earlier this year, Zimmerman made the decision with his team to move the LCS match games onto the live patch, differentiating the LCS from the other major regions that typically operate several patches behind.
He also re-introduced the weekend viewership schedule for matches, overturning the decision in 2023 to move LCS games to weekdays.
Read More: Massive Changes Announced for LCS 2024 Season!
Break Mid-Split – Esports World Cup Incoming
Due to the highly anticipated Esports World Cup taking place in July (right before Worlds in August), the LCS will be taking another break mid-split during the Summer Split in order to accommodate the tournament. The LCS took a mid-split break for the Spring Split as well, to accommodate for the VALORANT VCT Americas Kickoff tournament.
Read here for more information on the Esports World Cup: [UPDATED] Esports World Cup 2024: All announced titles so far
Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games