Massive Changes Announced for LCS 2024 Season!

As the upcoming Season 14 is on its way for many League of Legends players, the LCS has been preparing for their first split of the year. Presented by the newly appointed LCS Commissioner Mark "MarkZ" Zimmerman, the LCS and NACL will have massive changes coming, starting with the 2024 LCS Spring Split Regular Season. Here's what you need to know.

LCS Changes

Matches on Live Patch

That's right! All matches played in the LCS will be on the live patch that all summoners will be playing on. No more having to check the difference between patches or having to copy strategies to your ranked games that are weeks old.

For a long time, viewers and pro players have voiced their opinions about having to engage in matches that are played on a patch that is potentially weeks old. Specifically for the pro players, they will now no longer have to switch between the live patch and the LCS patch to practice. Additionally, this will allow for more vibrant strategies as the game is updated every couple weeks. There will also be a tournament portal opening for PBE to allow teams to create and tinker with ideas and strategies in the upcoming patch.

Competitive Schedule

The LCS Spring Split will be extended so that it will finish close to when MSI begins. In order to accomplish this, the Spring Split will have a two-week break after week 4 in mid-late February. An additional reason for this two week break is to minimize the overlap of the LCS and VCT. Apart from these changes, every matchup will only be a best-of-one in a double round robin until playoffs begin. Additionally, the LCS matches will be on weekends only.

Faster Pacing

The LCS broadcast will be shortening the time of breaks that occur in between matches. In order to accomplish this, every team will be required to complete champion select before their respective match begins. This means that every champion select will be predetermined in the background. However, it is important to note that the process of champion select will still be broadcasted to the viewers before every match like they have in the past. The only difference is that players will be able to accomplish technical tests and setups during the champion select broadcast instead of before. By doing so, breaks in between matches will be sped up.

If you are a frequent enjoyer of the analyst desk and are worried you won't be seeing them again, fear not as their content and ideas will broadcasted in the pre-show and post-show segments. Additionally, there will be occurrences where the analyst desk will show up in between games to deliver their analysis of the previous match but will happen where appropriate. So don't expect every match to have a complete analysis done by the analyst team.

Increased Fan Interactivity

From now on, every LCS broadcast will have new ways for fans to interact with the production team. By utilizing tools such as polls on Twitch, fans are able to vote on a multitude of broadcast decisions. This includes which lane to broadcast more of in the post-champion-select or who will be interviewed after a match finishes. With these changes, the LCS broadcast will become more dynamic to the general fans' wishes.

On top of these exceptional changes, the LCS team will be focused on communicating more with the viewer base. They will accomplish this through multiple mediums such as AMA on Reddit, YouTube uploads, and blog posts on the LoL Esports site.

NACL Changes

Many of the NACL changes mimic the LCS changes. Every match will be played on live servers, the downtime of match breaks will be decreased, and fan interactivity will be increased. There is one significant change, however.

Fearless Champion Select

The NACL will implement a fearless draft mode. The fearless draft change means that whenever a team picks a champion during a series, that same team can no longer pick that champion. The intention of this change is to force an increase in champion pools and also see match diversity in terms of champion picks. This will create an increased competitive environment that requires every player to truly hone in on their respective role.

TL;DR

• Matches in LCS and NACL will be played on the live patch until further notice.
• The end of the LCS Spring Split will be closer to the start of MSI
• Shortened breaks in-between matches; faster pace of broadcast for both LCS and NACL
• Fans will be able to interact with the broadcast in real-time and have more say in what is shown
• The LCS and NACL teams are expected to have clearer and further communication with fans about changes, and reflections.
• The NACL wil implement a fearless draft mode.

Featured Image Source: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games

 

Read More:

What is Darkin? Exploring the Lore of League of Legends

2024 LCK Spring kicks off tomorrow with special tournament Rule the Rift

Bilibili Gaming Clean Sweeps JDG in League of Legends Demacia Cup