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The Good: Positive outcomes of introducing the LCS
By giving a multitude of games for fans and players everywhere to watch bound by a consistent schedule, LCS became one of the revolutionary things in Western eSports. Learning from the approach that South Korea has been taking since the BroodWar era, LCS has utilized the long tournaments that are meant to be played weekly and have propelled eSports to become a very popular event which caters for the fans and their favorite teams at more than just live events.
With weekly showings, the LCS also introduced jobs for the teams participating in the competition. Playing in the LCS meant one of the most beneficial things for professional gamers - a secure occupation. With such a system in place, no longer would teams have to spend most of their time streaming for revenue or having to win every tournament. So qualifying for the LCS meant pretty much six months of salary for the players. It is what keeps these teams competitive but at the same time it is also the constant reminder that there's never a rise to success.
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The LCS is a privilege for a team, for there will always be a pack of hungry wolves looking to overthrow the alpha once weakened. The Relegation series, one of the dreaded words for teams of all calibers in the LCS, is among the very beauties of the LCS system as old teams such as CLG, TSM, CRS and Dignitas have no guarantee to always be placed in. It’s a dog eat dog world in the LCS and if these teams don’t play every game like their last, they may not survive to make it back the next season. While it may be hard to imagine, it is a very possible situation and one that makes the LCS exciting and gives fans more reasons to support their favorites.
Still, even if a team is knocked out of the LCS, the system is structured in such a way that there will always be a newcomer to take the vacant place. While these new teams will often come as underdogs, there is always the possibility that gems may turn up from the depths of the Challenger League, a shining example being NA's own Cloud 9. There is no adequate way to describe a team that manages to go 25-3 against some of the best and oldest teams on the continent except having it as a testament of just how frightening some of these challenger teams are when they get the chance to play against the monoliths of professional League.
The last and perhaps biggest benefit from the League of Legends Championship Series was its official recognition as sport by the US government allowing players to apply for visas like traditional sportsmen and legitimazing their occupation before the officials. That not only brought attention to the game but also incorporated partnerships with many different companies such as the Pacific Rim producers, who decided to showcase scenes of their movie during the Summer split, and American Express who also expressed their support for LCS after partnering with Riot to show that eSports is also a sport. With the game still being relatively new compared to its eSports colleagues, one can say this is just the beginning for League's growth, both as a game and as an innovator of eSports.
The Bad: Downsides to LCS
Although there is bright future and plenty of time ahead of LoL, there are nevertheless experiences withing the LCS that Riot need to fix. Experiences which were hard to pinpoint at first sight but became fairly obvious once the season progressed.
The biggest problem of the current LCS system is that it is divided into two splits, Spring and Summer and unfortunately for those that showed exceptional skills and won the Spring split, their achievement has been whittled down to have no meaning whatsoever. Currently, the Spring split is just a means to show who is the top dog in the middle of the season while eliminating struggling teams and bringing in new blood. There is no advantage given to those that performed well in it as both TSM and Fnatic did not experience an easier Summer or were instantly placed in the World Championship. If either of these teams fell under the top three of the Summer split, none of the work they had put forth for the Spring split would have mattered. Regardless these things must be addressed in the coming season for it just hurts the competitive scene.
The LCS has also eliminated cross region tournaments. With the implementation of LCS, every event, save the notable exceptions, has now become a region locked event. Even though the All-Stars event brought players from all regions together, it was merely a fan voted event consisting of teams with approximately two weeks worth of practice behind them. With the introduction of the LCS, Riot has ended international competition until World Championships, leaving fans with only memories of some of the best tournaments to have ever been played. Gone are the storylines that made these events enjoyable and exciting, making any foreign team that managed to crush an asian team was instantly a hero in the eyes of many.
Having lost the international competitive scene, the LCS forced the regional scenes to become much more active and while this a great move for them, it doesn’t fulfill our satisfaction as viewers. The LCS currently honors eight teams with the challenger circuit below it to determine who has the potential of moving up through relegation. These eight professional teams, however, can grow to be quite stale over the course of the season continuously playing the same opponents. In order for the LCS to truly feel competitive similar to the major tournaments of MLG, Dreamhack, or IPL, it needs to increase the amount of teams that are going to be participating.
Along with these competitions, the atmosphere has changed completely as well with the LCS established. The NA LCS has no live spectators, something important in all sports as it can actually determine the momentum and nerves of a team. A recent article by Michale "Drexxin" Lalor discussed just that, outlying the effects that fans chanting for their favorite team and against their rival can have. Avid League of Legends followers will be taken back to one of the most memorable part of S3 North American LCS when CLG met TSM at MLG and as the game shifted so did the tides of the crowd's cheering. The excitement, the energy, and most of all the passion, and love for the game was exhibited by so many, now these things are only seen for a select few times per year.
The Changes: Proposed “Fixes”
The biggest issue that is plaguing the current version of LCS is without a doubt the Spring Split having no rewards given to the players that participate in it. As of right now the Summer split is by far the more important of the two because it is an oppurtunity to qualify for the end of the season World Championships. As a way to prevent the Summer from being the dominant of the two, Riot needs to make the Spring count just as much as the Summer.
With this fix Riot would not have to change up the design of the current LCS much and would just add in another tournament. To make the splits seem even the proposed fix would be that the top 3 of each split would face each other for a shot at Worlds. The winners of each split could receive a bye to the second round of the tournament. The tournament format would be the same as the current LCS playoffs which would not cause any unfamiliarity. If however the same teams from the Spring Split qualify once again during the summer, then the next highest ranked teams would come in as a filler. While this may seem unfair to those teams of the Spring Split it would also emphasize the importance of the current session and proximity to the World Championships.
While this might not be a change that Riot has in mind, it could be a potential fix that will give the LCS splits more meaning. Whether or not Riot has plans to change how it works in the future is up to them, however, we as fans and viewers can help when we see changes that needs to be done. Riot has started a great thing with the LCS and will be a role model moving into the future of eSports. Whatever happens, the fans of the game and the competition will follow the LCS into the future.
