A new season of League of Legends means the return to professional play around the world, starting soon with North America’s LCS—which has undergone immense changes since last year.
In his first address to the LCS after taking the role of commissioner, MarkZ has laid out plans he and the LCS broadcast team have in store for the 2024 season, complete with an in-depth look at the competition structure itself and alterations to the viewing experience. The competition is set to start with the beginning of the Spring Split on Jan. 20, featuring all eight teams in the North American league.
Following the reveal of the entire Spring Split schedule last night, Riot Games confirmed that the double round-robin format will be returning despite the reduction in the league’s size, while also continuing best-of-ones in this format. The condensed six-week period will feature a two-week break between the fourth and fifth weeks to prevent a longer downtime for the LCS before the start of MSI, leading up to the Spring Finals on March 31.
In previous years, members of the community have remained vocal regarding the long wait times in between games, elongating the LCS broadcast as a whole late into the night. Riot is attempting to remedy this with the 2024 season by having teams complete the drafting phase of the regular season while the previous game is ongoing, then playing that recorded footage while those teams prepare for their game for the casters and fans to react together. It is specifically noted that despite the decreased intermissions, the broadcast will feature creative content—though it is unclear what exactly this pertains to.
The LCS will also be continuing to push interactions with fans both live in the Riot Games Arena and those watching from home with polls, predictions, and even a co-streaming program that will be detailed further in the near future. Riot has promised it will continue to remain transparent with fans, as well as reevaluate any of these new endeavors throughout the Spring Split should they not land with the community or broadcast.
Fans can look forward to the return of the LCS to weekends, starting with opening weekend on Jan. 20 and 21—featuring a rematch of the 2023 LCS Championship grand finals between NRG and Cloud9.
