New LCS Schedule: Monday Matches and More Academy Games
Inven Global reported earlier this week (from a reliable source) that the new broadcast schedule for the 2020 League of Legends Championship Series season will be changed to include more stage time for Academy teams. The new schedule includes a Monday game for both LCS and Academy teams.
In 2019, Riot introduced featured Academy matches to the broadcast, allowing two Academy teams each week to play their games on stage. This year, they'll be taking it to the next level by implementing a schedule that will allow five Academy teams to play stage games each weekend. The new schedule looks like this:
Friday (Academy only): Four games and one featured game.
Saturday (LCS and Academy): Four LCS games, one on-stage Academy match.
Sunday (LCS and Academy): Four LCS games, one on-stage Academy match.
Monday (Academy and LCS): Three on-stage Academy matches, two LCS games.
The last time the broadcast was rearranged to this extent was during the 2016 season, when the LCS implemented best-of-three matches into the regular season. It’s uncertain how such a drastic scheduling change might affect viewership, but this new system will allow for Academy players to have more time on stage than ever before.
Following yet another year at the World Championship where North America’s best teams failed to make it out of the group stage, many people have been criticizing the region’s lack of effort and proper infrastructure to develop young talent. Playing on the LCS stage will allow for Academy players’ talents to shine, both in the game and on the broadcast.
Riot revealed that 2019 was the best ever year for the LCS in terms of viewership, earning itself a spot as the third most-watched sport in the United States. Records for total hours watched, peak concurrent viewers, and average concurrent viewers were all broken, and about 53,000 fans attended live events.
The LCS will be returning on January 25th. More information about the upcoming 2020 season will be announced at a later date.
Image via Riot Games/LOLEsports | Flickr
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