Riot to Scrap LCS Spring Split in 2021?

According to reports, Riot Games are planning to scrap the LCS Spring Split in 2021, replacing it with a season-long format instead. Travis Gafford broke the news this week, with the Split currently being held between January to April. At present, no other major regional league has fewer than two splits.

Cloud9 dominated the most recent LCS Spring Split, before missing out on a place at the summer World Championship. The reported new format would mean that each team would face off against each other a total of five times during the season, one more than they currently do. Based on the current two-split system, teams go head to head against their nine rivals twice in the Spring and twice in the summer.

What the Removal of the Spring Split Would Mean for the Scene

Gafford, a leading personality in the League of Legends scene, believes that the new LCS season will not kick off with a new tournament, while the three days of broadcasts will now be “full days”. This would be to ensure that additional games can be accommodated. Gafford continued by stating that such a move could be due to the lack of growth in the Academy league, unlike for LCS broadcasts.

Changes would likely mean a more significant association between academy and amateur levels of competition, allowing teams such as 100 Thieves Next to test themselves against a higher calibre of teams. More teams are expected to follow in the footsteps of 100 Thieves in signing young talents from the amateur scene.

Why Riot are Considering Cancelling the Spring Split

The dominance of Cloud9 has seemingly played a key role in the potential cancellation of the Spring Split, with their success having been almost useless due to the lack of Championship Points awarded.

With Cloud9 missing out, FlyQuest, TSM and Team Liquid were the three teams from the LCS to compete at the World Championship in Shanghai this year. However, the trio were unable to make an impression at the event, having all crashed out at the group stage. In fact, Summer Split winners TSM finished with a surprising 0-6 record. We will await additional news on the plans of Riot, with Gafford having so far been the only person to talk up the cancellation of the Spring Split.