2021 LCS season

Last updated
2021 LCS season
League LCS
Sport League of Legends
Duration
  • January 15–31 (Lock In)
  • February 5 – April 11 (Spring)
  • June 4 – August 1 (Summer)
Number of teams10
TV partner(s)English: Twitch, YouTube
Lock In
Winner Team Liquid
  Runners-up Cloud9
Spring
Winner Cloud9
  Runners-up Team Liquid
Top seedCloud9
Season MVP Robert "Blaber" Huang
Summer
Winner 100 Thieves
  Runners-up Team Liquid
Top seed Team SoloMid
Season MVPMingyi "Spica" Lu
LCS seasons

The 2021 LCS season was the ninth season of the League Championship Series (LCS), a professional esports league for the video game League of Legends . The season was preceded a new preseason tournament, the LCS Lock In, which ran from January 15 to 31, 2021. The season was divided into two splits: Spring and Summer. The Spring Split began on February 5 and culminated with the Mid-Season Showdown finals on April 11, 2021. The Summer Split began on June 4 and culminated with the LCS Championship Final on August 1, 2021.

Contents

In 2021, the LCS underwent significant changes. The spring split regular season became a six-week double round-robin, while the spring playoffs were renamed the Mid-Season Showdown. The summer split regular season expanded to a nine-week triple round-robin format. The spring and summer regular season records were combined to determine LCS Championship seeding. Additionally, the league rebranded as the League Championship Series and introduced a new logo and mottos.

Cloud9 won the spring split playoffs, qualifying them for the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational. In the LCS Championship playoffs, 100 Thieves, Team Liquid, and Cloud9 claimed the first, second, and third positions, respectively, earning qualifications to the 2021 World Championship.

Format changes

The format of the LCS underwent significant changes for the 2021 season. The season introduced the "LCS Lock In," a three-week preseason tournament. The regular season expanded to five games a day over three days a week. The spring split regular season was changed to a double round-robin played over six weeks instead of nine, while maintaining the same number of games as the previous season. Additionally, the spring playoffs were rebranded as the Mid-Season Showdown (MSS). The summer split regular season was expanded to a triple round-robin format that took place over nine weeks. Additionally, the spring and summer regular season records were merged to determine the seeding for the LCS Championship at the end of the summer. [1]

The league also rebranded from the League of Legends Championship Series into the League Championship Series ahead of the 2021 season. A new logo and two new mottos were introduced: Made by many and All for the game. [2]

Lock In

The inaugural LCS Lock In took place from January 15 to 31, 2021, as a three-week preseason tournament. The group stage team selection process began with the top-performing teams from the previous year, namely TSM from group A and FlyQuest from group B. These teams each selected squads to be placed in the opposing group. The Lock-In groups followed a round-robin format, where each team played every other team in their group once, with matches being best-of-one. The top four teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage. The quarterfinals in the knockout stage were contested in a best-of-three series, while the semifinals and final used a best-of-five format. The Lock In champion was awarded a prize of US$150,000, along with an additional $50,000 for a charity of their choice. Additionally, they gained the advantage of side selection for Game 5 of the regular season in case of tied head-to-head records. [3] [4]

Group stage

Group A
PosTeamPldWLPCTQualification
1100 Thieves4310.750Advance to quarterfinals
2Team Liquid4310.750
3Team SoloMid4220.500
4Golden Guardians4130.250
5Counter Logic Gaming4130.250
Source: LoL Esports
Rules for classification: 1) Wins; 2) Head-to-head record
Group B
PosTeamPldWLPCTQualification
1Evil Geniuses4310.750Advance to quarterfinals
2Cloud94310.750
3FlyQuest4220.500
4Immortals4130.250
5Dignitas4130.250
Source: LoL Esports
Rules for classification: 1) Wins; 2) Head-to-head record

Knockout stage

QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
A1100 Thieves2
B4Immortals0
A1100 Thieves2
B2Cloud93
B2Cloud92
A3Team SoloMid1
B2Cloud92
A2Team Liquid3
B1Evil Geniuses2
A4Golden Guardians0
B1Evil Geniuses0
A2Team Liquid3
A2Team Liquid2
B3FlyQuest0

Spring

The Spring Split regular season ran from February 5 to March 14, 2021. The regular season followed a standard double round-robin format, where each team faced every other team twice. The playoffs ran from April 2 to 24, 2021. The top six teams from the Spring Split advanced to the Mid-Season Showdown (MSS), a double-elimination tournament. This format was similar to the 2020 Spring Playoffs, with the fifth and sixth seeds starting in the lower bracket. One change was the requirement for the first seed to face the fourth seed, and side selection favored the team that had most recently dropped from the upper bracket. Additionally, ties were resolved based on seeding. The winner of the MSS was awarded the first LCS title of 2021 and secured a spot at the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational. [3]

The lower bracket final and grand final of the MSS took place at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, California. [5]

Regular season

PosTeamPldWLPCTQualification
1 Cloud9 181350.722Advance to upper semifinals
2 Team SoloMid 181260.667
3 Team Liquid 181260.667
4 100 Thieves 181170.611
5 Dignitas 181170.611Advance to lower quarterfinals
6 Evil Geniuses 181080.556
7 Immortals 187110.389
8 FlyQuest 186120.333
9 Counter Logic Gaming 185130.278
10 Golden Guardians 183150.167
Source: LoL Esports (Archived March 18, 2021, at the Wayback Machine )

Mid-Season Showdown

Bracket

Upper round 1Upper finalFinal
1Cloud93
4100 Thieves0
1Cloud93
3Team Liquid1
2Team SoloMid1
3Team Liquid3
1Cloud93
Lower round 1Lower round 2Lower final3Team Liquid2
2Team SoloMid3
3Team Liquid3
6Evil Geniuses1
2Team SoloMid32Team SoloMid1
4100 Thieves1
4100 Thieves3
5Dignitas0

Final standings

PosTeamQualification
1Cloud9 2021 Mid-Season Invitational
2Team Liquid
3Team SoloMid
4100 Thieves
5–6Dignitas
Evil Geniuses

Awards

Summer

The Summer Split regular season ran from June 4 to August 1, 2021. The Summer Split regular season featured a triple round robin format, spanning nine weeks of play, where each team faced each other three times. The top eight teams with the highest combined regular season records from both spring and summer secured spots in the LCS Championship playoffs. The top two teams started in the upper bracket semifinals, the following four started in the upper bracket quarterfinals, and the remaining two started in the lower bracket. The LCS Championship playoffs, held from August 7 to 29, featured a double-elimination format. The top team from the playoffs was named the LCS champion, and the top three teams from the playoffs qualified for the 2021 League of Legends World Championship. [3]

Initially, the LCS Championship lower bracket final and grand final were scheduled to be held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. However, due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the United States, these matches were relocated to the LCS Arena in Los Angeles, California, where they took place without a live audience. [9]

Regular season

PosTeamPldWLPCTQualification
1 Team SoloMid 4530150.667Advance to upper semifinals
2 100 Thieves 4529160.644
3 Evil Geniuses 4528170.622Advance to upper quarterfinals
4 Cloud9 4528170.622
5 Team Liquid 4527180.600
6 Dignitas 4523220.511
7 Immortals 4520250.444Advance to lower round 1
8 Golden Guardians 4514310.311
9 FlyQuest 4514310.311
10 Counter Logic Gaming 4512330.267
Source: LoL Esports (Archived October 8, 2021, at the Wayback Machine )

LCS Championship playoffs

Bracket

Upper round 1Upper round 2Upper finalFinal
1Team SoloMid1
4Cloud915Team Liquid3
5Team Liquid35Team Liquid3
2100 Thieves2
2100 Thieves3
3Evil Geniuses33Evil Geniuses2
6Dignitas1
5Team Liquid0
2100 Thieves3
Lower round 1Lower round 2Lower round 3Lower final
1Team SoloMid3
6Dignitas07Immortals12100 Thieves3
7Immortals31Team SoloMid24Cloud91
4Cloud93
3Evil Geniuses0
4Cloud934Cloud93
8Golden Guardians0

Final standings

PosTeamQualification
1100 Thieves 2021 League of Legends World Championship
2Team Liquid
3Cloud9
4Team SoloMid
5–6Evil Geniuses
Immortals
7–8Dignitas
Golden Guardians

Awards

Broadcast

LCS regular season games were played on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with Fridays beginning at 3 pm  PT and Saturdays and Sundays at 1 pm  PT. [3] A Spanish broadcast was produced by the LCS team FlyQuest. [15]

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References

  1. ↑ Soba, Carolynn (January 9, 2021). "All there is to know about the 2021 LCS format change". Upcomer . Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  2. ↑ Suárez, Pablo (January 5, 2021). "Riot presents complete revamp of LCS' brand identity". Dot Esports . Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "2021 LCS Season Updates". League of Legends Esports. December 14, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  4. ↑ Çakır, Gökhan (January 12, 2021). "How to watch the LCS 2021 Lock In: Format, schedule, and more". Dot Esports . Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  5. ↑ Beresford, Trilby (April 7, 2021). "L.A.'s Greek Theatre to Host 'League of Legends' Esports Event". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Esguerra, Tyler (March 19, 2021). "Team Liquid, Cloud9 players make up 2021 LCS Spring Split All-Pro team". Dot Esports . Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  7. ↑ Esguerra, Tyler (April 9, 2021). "Blaber wins 2021 LCS Spring Split MVP award". Dot Esports . Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  8. ↑ Esguerra, Tyler (March 26, 2021). "Cloud9 win coaching staff of the split award for 2021 LCS Spring Split". Dot Esports . Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  9. ↑ Peters, Jay (August 7, 2021). "Riot moves League of Legends' US championship from Prudential Center due to COVID-19". The Verge . Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 "2021 LCS Summer Split Awards". LoL Esports. August 6, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  11. ↑ Kelly, Michael (August 27, 2021). "2023 LCS Summer Split Awards". Dot Esports . Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  12. ↑ Esguerra, Tyler (August 11, 2021). "Evil Geniuses ADC Danny wins 2021 LCS Rookie of the Year award". Dot Esports . Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  13. ↑ Esguerra, Tyler (August 17, 2021). "Fudge wins 2021 LCS Most Improved Player award". Dot Esports . Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  14. ↑ Kelly, Michael (August 6, 2021). "Evil Geniuses wins 2021 LCS Coaching Staff of the Year award". Dot Esports . Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  15. ↑ Geracie, Nick (4 February 2021). "FlyQuest to produce Spanish co-stream for 2021 LCS season". www.invenglobal.com.
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