LEC & LCS Formats Updates for 2022 and Key Dates

While teams are currently in the off-season locking the rosters, we’re going to look at how the LEC & LCS formats will be for the upcoming 2022. Minor tweaks have been done to the starting dates for the LEC, compared to previous years. In the LCS, a revert back to older settings is announced, after last year’s changes didn’t bare much fruit.

Here’s how the new season will look like, and the key dates for 2022 season.

LEC & LCS 2022 Formats

The LEC 2022 Spring Split will be the first competition of the fourth year of Europe’s rebranded professional League of Legends European League. The LEC will likely keep its format unchanged from previous years.

Nonetheless, remember that the tournament structure is based on previous formats and should not be treated as definitive information. The definite format will be confirmed a few weeks prior to the start of the competition.

If the LEC keeps the format intact, then ten teams will compete in a double round-robin group stage. All matches will be best of ones, with the top six teams to qualify for the Spring Playoffs. The top four will compete in the winners’ bracket, while 5th and 6th will start in the losers’ bracket.

Compared to last year, there’s only a new organization coming into the LEC. Following Schalke 04’s departure, Swiss organization Team BDS will take its place. The team has already made a name for itself, picking up important players and coaching staff, including former G2 coach Grabbz.

The LEC Spring Split will start on Jan. 14th, with its projected end to be around mid-march.

Credits: LoL Esports

The 2022 LCS (League Championship Series) is the fifth year of North America’s professional League of Legends league under partnership, and the tenth year of the league overall. It seems like the LCS will continue with its new format that was introduced last year.

In 2021, the North American League introduced major changes to its competition, with the addition of the Lock-in tournament as well as changes to the Playoffs competition. The Lock-in tournament doesn’t have an impact on the record of the year, but it gives the winners a little bonus. ($150,000) Not to mention the golden opportunity to see the teams’ potential relative to the competitors. The tournament will start on Jan. 15th and last until Jan. 31th. The Spring Split will start a week later, on Feb. 5th.

On the other hand, the spring playoffs turned into the Mid-Season Showdown, while the LCS Championship replaced the former Summer playoffs.

Credits: Riot Games

The other major change that was brought to the LCS is related to the teams’ records. Unlike previous years, records carry over from the Spring Split. This means that the consistency in both splits matters a lot more for the organizations. Not only that, but in the Championship, the top 8 teams, instead of the usual 6, will compete. This indirectly increases the possibilities of making a better result for bottom teams since they also have a chance to get Worlds seeds.

Despite the two different formats for the LCS & the LEC, we’re for sure in for another exciting year of action, especially now that some of the off-season moves have been confirmed! Make sure to tune in on twitch & Youtube on January for an explosive month of League of Legends!

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