Riot has just announced that the North American LCS will shift to a noticeably different format for the 2022 competitive season. This is very important news as it’ll affect both the ten teams that are  scheduled to compete and everyone watching from home — albeit in noticeably different ways.

We’re going to break everything down into a (relatively) short TL;DR as no one wants to get lost in a sea of never-ending paragraphs!

• Both the Spring and Summer Splits will now consist of eight-week double round robins, with five games played on Saturday and five on Sunday. So, if you loved watching LCS on Fridays, you’re out of luck on this one. Fortunately, two weeks each split will be designated as “Super Weeks” and they’ll feature an additional five games on Friday — the exact same format as in the LEC.
• A team’s record from Spring will no longer carry over into Summer. This is quite an important change and it’ll no doubt have far-reaching effects on everyone competing.
• Riot will launch Champions Queue, an “exclusive matchmaking system with games hosted on a west coast server for high-skill players serious about improvement.” This has been a long time coming but better late than never!
• Academy playoffs will no longer exist. Instead, all ten Academy teams will qualify for Proving Grounds and then subsequently face the top 10 Amateur teams. The semifinals and finals of Proving Grounds will be played on LAN.
• Scouting Grounds will not return next year.

The LCS will return on January 14 with the LCS Lock In tournament. Its structure will remain unchanged in 2022 so if you were a fan of the first one you definitely have a reason to be excited! 100 Thieves and Team Liquid (last split’s finalists) will draft teams into their groups for a single round-robin. Additionally, the entire Lock In tournament will take place at the LCS Studio in Los Angeles, with the grand finals set for January 30.

If you happen to live on the East Coast, you have a reason to celebrate: “Broadcast days will start at 12pm Sunday, 1pm on Saturday and, during Lock In and Super Weeks, 2pm on Friday, with games starting on the half hour (all times PT),” as per the official announcement. European fans will also have an easier time following the action.

Spring Split playoffs will stay limited to just six teams, with the winner representing North America at the Mid-Season Invitational. The playoffs format will also remain the same; the lower bracket final and grand final will take place at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, as previously reported.

The start of the Summer Split will be pushed back by one week so as to give NA’s MSI representative a longer break. Riot will also add another week-long “hiatus” between the end of the regular season and the LCS playoffs. Speaking of the Summer Split playoffs, its current structure will remain unchanged. Eight of the best teams will qualify, the first and second seeds will get playoffs byes, and the team that ends up in first place will get to choose which side of the bracket it’ll play through. Last but certainly not least, the location of the LCS Championship weekend will be revealed at a later date.

All in all, we’re glad that Riot will employ a more “relaxed schedule” so as to reduce player burnout. The introduction of a more competitive matchmaking system is also a big deal as it’ll allow the very best players in North America to grind and improve without going through the horrors of solo queue.

Whether that’ll have an impact on NA’s international performance still remains to be seen, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.