The League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) has officially rebranded ahead of the 2021 Spring Split. Two days ago we saw the League of Legends Championship Korea (LCK) also rebrand before their season. Riot Games appears to be refining the way they produce esports for both League of Legends and Valorant.
COVID-19 was a difficult time for esports with many in-person tournaments being canceled unexpectedly. League of Legends tournaments had to be reformatted considering it would be played completely online. However, despite COVID-19 taking over the world, the League of Legends World Championship was still able to be held in person. Worlds gave light into what could be the future of Legend of Legends esports despite a global pandemic.
The LCS has received its second rebrand since franchising back in early 2018. Since then we have seen different teams come and go and several players retire completely. With Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg and Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng both officially retired from professional League of Legends, the scene will welcome new talent. Victor “FBI” Huang (100 Thieves), Edward “Tactical” Ra (Team Liquid), and Mingyi “Spica” Lu (TSM) were all featured in the video. These players are all ones to watch coming into the 2021 season after their performances last season.
LCS begins January 15
League of Legends esports kicks off in North America on January 15 as revealed at the end of the rebranding video. However, this year will start differently than last year with a three-week “Lock-In” tournament. All teams will compete for a $150,000 prize pool with an additional $50,000 charity prize.
A New Era, Made By Many #LCS pic.twitter.com/aXgpQpSBdX
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) January 5, 2021
In addition to the kick-off tournament, the LCS will expand to five games a week across three days (Friday Night League at 3 PM PT; Saturday and Sunday at 1 PM PT). This is to expand the number of times the ten teams play each other. The official season doesn’t begin until February 6 after the Lock-In tournament.
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