Riot Games has announced changes for the 2022 LCS, including a revamp of the weekly schedule and a new “Champions Queue”. Most weeks will only have two days of play in 2022.
Riot Games has announced some changes to the LCS format for 2022. Highlights include a small revamp of the setup for the amateur scene, and the standard LCS week changing to two days of play instead of three. Another new feature is Champions Queue, a specific queue for top-ranked players on the west coast.
What are the Changes to the 2022 LCS Format?
The LCS Lock-In Tournament is returning for 2022. The preseason showdown was a success last year, allowing us to see new rosters in action and allowing some teams to give their younger stars stage experience. This year, the tournament will run from January 14-30.
Team's records from the spring split will no longer carry over to the summer split. The two season are being split apart again. Spring Split will take place over 8 weeks, from February 5-April 2, and Summer Split is the same length, from June 18-August 20. Most weeks will only have two days of play, with five games each on Saturday and Sunday. Some weeks will be "Super Weeks", with an additional five games played on Friday.
Playoff formats are staying mostly the same - 6 teams in Spring, 8 in Summer. The LCS Spring Split finals will take place at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, with fans in attendance.
Academy and Amateur grow closer
For LCS Academy and Amateur in 2022, we're seeing even more changes. Establishing Proving Grounds was a success in 2021, and Riot want to develop that even further. For 2022, there will be no Academy playoffs. Rather, the teams that finish higher in the Academy regular season will be seeded higher into Proving Grounds. For the two Proving Grounds tournaments, a play-in stage will be added, featuring the bottom four seeds from Academy and Amateur.
For the weekly schedule, Amateur games will be played on Monday and Tuesday, while Academy will play Wednesday through Friday, depending on the week.
An Exclusive Champions Queue Matchmaking
Maybe the most exciting announcement is Champions Queue. This will be a "exclusive matchmaking system hosted on the west coast server, accessible only to high-skill players who are serious about improvement." While we know few details, it seems the project was championed by Team Liquid support Jo "CoreJJ" Yong-in.
The LCS 2022 format changes
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