Two weeks before the start of the LCK Spring Split, the official South Korean League of Legends competition announced the start date for 2023 and several changes to the competition format and schedule.
Start date
Specifically, the LCK will officially kick off next January 19, 2023, at 02:00 AM CT. The kick-off will be the match between the reigning world champion DRX and Damwon KIA.
After this match, we will continue with the attractive menu of the opening day with the excellent game between Gen.G and T1.
Mark your calendars for Jan.18 – the #LCK is back!
📍Opening Match
— 17:00 [KST] DK vs DRX
— 19:30 [KST] GEN vs T1❗️Be sure to note the weekend match time change:
Weekdays: 17:00, 19:30 [KST]
Weekends: 15:00, 17:30 [KST] pic.twitter.com/7fBwPbFqEU— LCK (@LCK) January 5, 2023
While this Spring Sprit 2023 won’t be all that different for LCK fans, organizers implemented some changes to the regular season and playoffs.
Changes to the schedule
Throughout the 2023 season, the LCK will have a schedule that runs every week from Wednesday through Sunday. The inter-week days will be played at 00:00 CT instead of the 02:00 AM of the previous season, and as usual, with two games.
One of the peculiarities of this season is that the second game is moved up to minimize downtime between series.
In addition, the format of the spring playoffs was modified, scheduled between March 22 and April 9.
Other new features
Another novelty introduced in this season of the LCK Spring Split is the “Saturday Showdown,” which will have a more important match than usual on Saturday.
All teams will participate in at least one of these events. To choose which matches to schedule on this date, the organization has based its decision on previous rivalries or results in last seasons.
Changes in the format
The last feature that will debut in 2023 is the introduction of double elimination for the playoff phase. As usual, six teams will enter this stage.
The top six teams from the Spring Split regular season will play each other in the playoffs. The top two teams from the regular season will advance directly to the second round. The other four will face each other in a preliminary round.
Then, from the third round onwards, Lower Brackets are added for the losers of the semifinals. This means these teams will have to win three more series to return to the Grand Final.
There is no doubt that all League of Legends fans are eagerly awaiting the start of each league. Of course, each has its ingredients. But the LCK has produced two of the last three world champions, so there is no denying that it is at the top of the League of Legends competitive scene.
Header: Riot Games