2015 LCS Changes

TL;DR

• The 10th place LCS team will automatically be moved to the Challenger Series for the next split. The 1st place Challenger team will automatically earn a spot in the LCS.
  LCS teams will receive championship points based on their performance in the LCS playoffs each split. The points will be used to determine seeding for the World Championship and Regional Qualifiers for North America and Europe.
  
• The winner of the Summer Split and the team with the most championship points throughout the season will both qualify for Worlds for their respective region. The NA and EU Regional Qualifiers will determine the final seeds for Worlds.
  
• Increasing the LCS to 10 teams and Head Coaches becoming a part of the Pick/Ban phase are just a couple of the changes that we have in store for next season. Below are some of the additional changes that we’re making to create a more entertaining, consistent 2015 season.
  

FORMAT
Regular Season

• In the 2015 season, we’ll be revising the regular season schedule to make it more consistent and facilitate more exciting, diverse matchups for players and fans. Below are some of the format changes for the upcoming regular season and how it stacks up against last season:
  
• More matches per day: each team will continue to play once a day, so the increase to ten teams means five matches per day compared to four during the 2014 season
  
• Each game will matter more: teams will only face each other twice per split rather than four times for a total of 18 games, down from 28 last year
  Shorter regular season: 2015 regular season splits will be nine weeks with no Super Weeks instead of 11 weeks in 2014
  

Here’s how the regular season results will affect teams at all positions:

• 1st place and 2nd place will secure first round byes in the playoffs
  
• 4th place will play 5th and 3rd place will play 6th in the playoff quarterfinals
  
• 7th place re-qualifies for LCS next split and will not participate in playoffs
  
• 8th and 9th place LCS teams will play against the 2nd and 3rd place CS teams for a spot in the LCS at the Promotion Tournament. The 8th place LCS team will get their choice of CS opponent.
  
• 10th place will automatically be relegated to the Challenger Series and the 1st place Challenger team automatically qualify to the LCS
  The full Spring Split schedule and tickets for the beginning of the regular season are now available.
  

Playoffs

The NA and EU LCS Playoffs will take place over a three week period with each round of matches (Quarters, Semis, and Final) taking place on separate weekends. All playoff matches will be Best of 5s (Bo5). The NA and EU Spring Split Playoffs will take place over the following weekends:

NA and EU Spring Playoffs, Quarters: April 4-5
NA and EU Spring Playoffs, Semis: April 11-12
NA and EU Spring Playoffs, 3rd and Final: April 18-19
QUALIFYING FOR WORLDS
Championship Points

We’re introducing Championship Points (otherwise known to some as circuit points) for the 2015 LCS Season. As we mentioned in August , we wanted to introduce a point system that ensures teams always play their best and allows for better alignment with other international Leagues.

Teams will receive championship points that help them qualify for Worlds based on their performance in the LCS playoffs each split. The teams who will represent North America and Europe at the 2015 World Championship will be determined by championship points and performance in the Summer Split.

Here’s how an LCS team qualifies for Worlds:

• 1st place team of the Summer Split will automatically qualify (AQ) for Worlds as the first seed from that region.
  
• The team that has accrued the most championship points throughout the season will also qualify for Worlds as the second seed.
  
• In the event that multiple teams are tied in the standings at the conclusion of the Summer Split, then the team that gained the most points in the Summer Split will be considered the holder of the tiebreaker.
  
• The final spot for Worlds will be determined at the NA and EU Regional Qualifiers, the winners of which will be the third seeds of their respective regions.
  Points will be awarded in the following way:

+ Show Spoiler +


NA and EU Regional Qualifiers

The Regional Qualifiers will determine the third and final seed for Worlds for North America and Europe. The tournament will be a single elimination, knockout bracket with Bo5 matches among the four highest championship point-holders not already qualified for the World Championship. We chose a king-of-the-hill format to reward strong play throughout the year and give these teams a last chance at qualifying for Worlds.

Here’s a breakdown of the bracket:



BROADCAST AND COVERAGE
The regular season of the EU LCS will stay on Thursdays and Fridays at 9:00am PST/18:00 CET while NA LCS will be on Saturdays and Sundays will be NA LCS at 12:00pm PST/ 21:00 CET.

WHAT’S NEXT?
Stay tuned for more information on our international events and 2015 World Championship.

Don't forget to catch all the action of the LCS starting on January 22 here on Lolesports.com