TL;DR: As we promised last time we talked about changes, we’re back with more news on bigger format shifts to the NA and EU LCS for Summer Split 2016.

We’ve weighed up a lot of factors closely over the last split and thought about what makes a good broadcast, tests the skills of players and teams and creates an entertaining experience for fans. As a result, we’ll be taking a big step in the summer split with NA LCS shifting to a double Best-of-3 format while EU LCS will transition to a double Best-of-2 format. The 2016 Spring Split will remain Best-of-1 as we staff up for the increased hours of the Summer Split. Read on for more details about how we reached this decision and how it’ll work.

Why make this change?

Every season we actively look at the LCS format and schedule to see how well it’s meeting our goal of creating highly competitive and extremely entertaining matches. For the 2015 season, it led to changes like eliminating Super Weeks and extending playoffs over multiple weeks rather than one jam-packed weekend.

During the course of this past season, we took a careful look at how the current LCS Bo1 format was meeting our dual goals of creating great entertainment value and providing the best competition – testing players and teams to the best of their abilities and equipping them for international competition. We want to create a fair and entertaining league experience – one in which the highest level of League of Legends play is showcased and rewarded, but is also fun to watch. Ultimately, we felt that we could do better on both counts.

A Best-of-1 (Bo1) format has some very clear strengths from an entertainment standpoint.  Every team plays every day, meaning any fan can tune in on any LCS day and know that their team is playing.  It has a very predictable schedule, games are roughly the same length, and fans know generally when a specific game will happen.  It also has a very steady flow; you’re rarely waiting long for a high interest matchup to happen. Looking back, showcasing every team on each day was an important part of growing the league from its infancy when team brands weren’t nearly as strong as they are today.

The Bo1 format also has some clear drawbacks.  For many of us,  Bo1s don’t feel as satisfying as a longer series – due to their short nature, there’s not as strong a feeling of victory when a team wins as there would be with a more extended series. Teams currently don’t get a lot of practice in a competitive best-of series which may affect their ability to adapt mid-series in the LCS post-season and the knockout stages of MSI and Worlds. Beyond this, the Bo1 format means more time between games because more teams are transitioning to and from the stage – we’d generally like to decrease time between games in 2016.  

Moving towards Bo2 and Bo3 formats creates some immediate competitive value for players and teams (although each format has different advantages).

Bo2s share some of the consistency of the Bo1 format (a predictable and regular series with fixed slots for each match to begin) but offers the chance for adaptation between games, which helps teams prep for international competition. Each team gets to play each side once, and total number of games played is the same for all teams. Each game is therefore meaningful and rewarded with a point, forcing stronger teams to win more consistently to create separation within the standings. A drawback with Bo2s is the possibility of 1-1 ties – this preserves tension for the playoffs but can feel unsatisfying in the regular season.

Bo3s provide a lot of competitive benefits, including rigorous competition between teams due to the sheer number of games. In common with Bo1s, it’s also emotionally satisfying to watch as a fan since there’s a clear winner at the end of every series. A drawback is that each matchup between teams may seem less fair because of the number of games on each side and total number of games played. Like Bo2s, Bo3s could also offer less popular and/or low interest matchups for an extended time.

Switching to this new Double Bo2 and Bo3 formats brings other challenges, including a more demanding schedule for players and more resources needed to support extended broadcasts. Ultimately when we looked at the individual demands of the EU and NA LCS we felt that the benefits from an entertainment and competitive standpoint outweighed these concerns.

Why do EU and NA have different formats? Why not choose the “better” format and have both leagues use it?

As we discussed formats with the League Ops teams from both regions, we came up with pros and cons for both Bo2 and Bo3 formats. Both regions agreed that Bo1 no longer served our best interests, and given the pros and cons of both Bo2 and Bo3, we decided to try out both and leave ourselves open to pivot in the future. Given the prevalence of Bo2 in many European sports leagues (specifically soccer…sorry, football), we decided to implement Bo2 format in a region where ties are both understood and accepted in sports culture. In NA, where there’s a regional sport tradition of avoiding ties, we chose to implement Bo3. We’re honestly not sure which format will be better; we’re going to be monitoring a variety of levers throughout the transition, and will review at the end of the 2016 season.  

How will this work? Will games run concurrently? Will they all be played in studio?

We’ll be announcing exact schedules as we get closer to the Summer Split, but here’s how it’ll generally work:

In the EU LCS, we’ll be keeping regular season matches to two days (Thursday-Friday), but moving to a two-stream broadcast. We’ll run matches concurrently on our second stream as well as the main stage, giving fans the chance to choose which matchup they want to view, watch both at the same time (double monitors or second screens FTW) or catch them on VODs – viewable spoiler-free at www.lolesports.com. There are still many details to iron out, so stay tuned for more details.

Over in the NA LCS, we’ll be extending the broadcast to three days a week (Friday-Saturday-Sunday). We will run two Bo3s on a single stream on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, we’ll be featuring two simultaneous streams. As in EU, second stream matches will be hosted on a separate stage.

Why can’t this go into effect in the Spring Split of 2016? Why make the change mid-season?

Making a format change this significant requires some ramp-up and planning time both for Riot and for the teams and players who have to prepare for a new and more demanding schedule.

Does this mean more casters/broadcast teams/studios? How will Riot support the additional games?

Upping the number of games we produce per week in Berlin and in Los Angeles definitely requires a significant investment in  resources – from more people behind the camera to more on-air talent demands. We think it’s worth it. We’re already planning for how we support a heavier broadcast schedule and will be working hard to ensure a consistent level of quality and experience across all of the games we produce per week.

We’re excited to introduce these format changes to the NA and EU LCS. We know there’ll be some challenges ahead as we adjust to the new schedules.. It’s not a change we’ve made lightly – we considered feedback from pros, teams and the community before making our decision – but we think that the new-look NA and EU LCS 2016 formats will give teams valuable competitive experience and increase the level of entertainment for fans watching from home.