LCS Commissioner Mark “MarkZ” Zimmerman hosted the first LCS Address and shared all the changes coming to the league in 2024, and detailed changes to the schedule and format.
2024 will be a big year for the LCS. After a rough year of viewership and the departures of multiple organizations including fan-favorite TSM, the league brought in MarkZ to serve as the new commissioner. The LCS will only have eight teams in 2024, and all this will be accompanied by major changes to the global scene with MSI now directly factoring into Worlds qualifications.
Naturally, these changes to the LCS and tweaks across the LoL Esports scene are going to require some major adjustments. MarkZ broke down what the LCS look like in 2024, and how it will differ from the league in 2023.
LCS 2024 start date, schedule revealed
The 2024 LCS Spring Split is set to start on January 20 and brings interesting changes to the North American circuit.
Back in November, Riot Games announced that the LCS would be an eight-team league. Considering the lower number of participants, the LCS partially modified its format. It will continue to be a best-of-one, double round robin with a double-elimination format in the playoffs. The change in the schedule comes in the form of a two-week break starting on February 12. This way, the LCS guarantees the end of the season is closer to MSI 2024. The LCS now consists of six weeks of regular season and three weeks of playoffs.
The biggest change for 2024 is the patch selection for competition. Instead of playing on a set patch for several weeks, the LCS will play on the live patch every week in 2024. North America will be, effectively, the only region in the world to compete on the live patch. This change will make it so players don’t have to train on two different patches. According to Zimmerman, the LCS will be taking steps to guarantee that teams have access to stable training conditions. Once the LCS reaches the playoffs stage, it will select one patch for the remainder of the tournament.
LCS to focus on the viewer experience
The LCS’s mission for 2024 is to improve the viewership experience by implementing changes to the broadcast.
There will be less downtime between matches and teams will now record the champion selection behind the scenes, allowing things to move briskly between each game. Once the match on stage is over, players will take their positions and complete the technical checks while the pre-recorded selection airs. On-air talent will focus on creating more engaging content rather than doing the regular “sideline” interviews. This change only applies to the regular season. During playoffs, the champion selection will happen as usual.
Fans are encouraged to interact with the broadcast. There will be opportunities to vote for which players should be interviewed and what lanes to follow in the broadcast. The LCS is improving communication with its fans by hosting regular AMAs and posting more frequently throughout its different channels.
