The LCS is looking to be a banger.
Compared to the other tier-one regions like the LCK, the LPL, and the LEC, the LCS doesn't feature any changes in terms of its format but it does come with new game days. But aside from the controversial move of swapping it over for the weekend, the most significant change that took the LCS by storm is the return of its prodigal son Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng.
The eight-time LCS champion is returning to competitive play, signing with 100 Thieves alongside another familiar face in Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg. However, 100 Thieves isn't the only team to make some radical roster changes during the off-season. But we'll get to all that in just a bit.
Format & Schedule
Moving from the weekend to Thursday and Friday was seen as a big change to the LCS, given that it had always taken place over the weekend. As Riot Games noted in its press release, the change was partially down to a change in viewership habits as well as fan expectations. Another reason was to ensure it doesn't overlap with other existing broadcasts that now take place over the weekend. This will allow the LCS to gain more access to available fans and viewers than if we had stayed on the weekend broadcast schedule.
With that change, all 10 teams participating in the LCS will play one another every Thursday and Friday. This will go on for eight weeks with the double-elimination playoff bracket to come after that. But first, they have to determine which of the top six will make it there. Each team will play 18 matches in a best-of-one series to determine who goes to the playoffs.
The teams that finish from first to fourth will head straight to the semifinals while teams that finished fifth and sixth will head to the first round of the lower bracket. From there, it will be an all-out battle with all matches being a best-of-five. And with Riot also making changes to MSI qualifications, both the winner as well as the runner-up in the LCS Spring Split will head to LAN in London later in the year.
And to kickstart the spring split, the LCS puts both 100 Thieves and Cloud9 to debut the new season. This will be the perfect way to kickstart the season with the return of Doublelift and Bjergsen on the same team. They will go up against the reigning champions, followed by Golden Guardians and Evil Geniuses. Both teams have made personnel changes during the off-season with the former bringing in key imports for its rebuild.
FlyQuest and Team Liquid follow right after with both teams raiding the LCK for their recruits. The biggest news amongst both teams was Liquid who brought in a reigning world-champion jungler in Hong "Pyosik" Chang-hyeon. Both Dae-gwang "VicLa" Lee and Lee "Prince" Chae-hwan also made the move from the LCK after leaving KT Rolster and SANDBOX Gaming respectively. And in the last two matches of the day, will feature Counter Logic Gaming going up against Dignitas followed by TSM and Immortals.
Teams to Focus On
From the get-go, the top two biggest names that many will have eyes on are 100 Thieves and Team Liquid. Both teams brought in plenty of talent and experience into the mixture with the hope that it will also boost viewership numbers for the LCS. Over the last couple of years, the viewership has been in a slow decline, partially due to NA's inability to mount a challenge during MSI and Worlds. Both its peak and average viewership have dropped over the last couple of years, according to data site Esports Charts.
With the return of legends like Doubleliftand Bjergsen on the same team as well as the inclusion of a current world champion in Pyosik, this could potentially raise the stakes for the LCS and hopefully get it back to competing with the rest of the top regions. And with both players having a strong fan base, it will most likely benefit their respective teams while also placing a lot more eyes and expectations on them. With Doublelift back in the pro scene after a two-year break, will he be able to cope with the new landscape of the LCS?
Questions will also be raised at Pyosik, who opted to make the move over from the LCK after winning Worlds with DRX. While language and communication issues will be a stumbling block, it shouldn't prove to be too much of a hurdle with two other South Koreans on the Liquid squad. A bigger question will be if Pyosik can adapt to the LCS' meta and style of play.
Another team that will garner plenty of attention is Evil Geniuses and Cloud9, both teams that won the Spring and Summer split last season. With C9 being the reigning champions, they are expected to set the standard for the rest of the season. With only a sole change to their roster by bringing in an untested midlaner to the LCS, there will be an uphill battle for C9 to stake their claim as worthy holders of the LCS title. Of course, mountains are there to be climbed, which can also be said for EG.
By bringing in two tried-and-tested LCS stars formerly of 100 Thieves, EG will be looking to make their mark in the Spring Split once more and hopefully get their second LCS title. The team had gone through a turbulent time last season, especially during the latter stages of the Summer Split. And through the skin of their teeth, they managed to make their MSI and Worlds debut last year. Having already set the bar high, EG will be looking to get there once again.
The LCS 2023 Spring Split starts later today at 6.00 am UTC+8, only on the official LCS Twitch channel.
