Riot Games has announced to its audience that there will be no fans in attendance at the LCS studio for the 2021 summer split. The LCS returned to an arena capacity earlier this month when C9, TL and TSM squared off in the Mid-Season Showdown.
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Riot Games and the local health authorities have come to the conclusion fans should not return to the LCS studio just yet. While it will be a disappointment to many, Riot Games believes this is the correct step to make to ensure the safety of its players and staff.
The news first broke out when Travis Gafford announced on Twitter that past LCS attendees received an email informing them of this decision.
While there has been no confirmation of their plans for their summer finals, this news will impact the fans hoping to see their team live in Riot's Los Angeles studio. The LCS recently returned to a LAN event for the first time since the 2020 spring split. LA's Greek Theatre played host to the 2021 Mid-Season Showdown which saw Cloud9, Team Liquid, and TSM battle it out for a chance to attend MSI.
Riot Games recently released their 2021 Spring-in-review article which highlighted their plans to utilize their LCS studio in the summer split with the inclusion of more analysts and the teams.
Once MSI is in the rearview mirror, we’ll kick off the 2021 LCS Summer Split on Friday, June 4th at 1:00 PM PT. You’ll continue to see the LCS Analyst Studio in use by our hosts, and gradually other analysts, shoutcasters, teams and (eventually) fans as local regulations allow
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Fans returned for the 2020 Worlds final
While the global pandemic kept everything shut down for the majority of 2020, Riot Games was able to host their world championship final with a live audience. This was an impressive feat with this final being one of the first sporting events to welcome the fans back through their doors.
Although the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational will not have a live audience, the 2021 World Championship will return to China once again this year. While there are no confirmed plans for the upcoming world championship, it would be no surprise to see fans return in some capacity for Riot's biggest tournament of the year.
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