Boards›Esports

Changes to the 2015 LCS Official Rules

Riot·1/21/2015, 12:07:03 AM·0 votes·85,422 views
TL;DR:
  • You can now check out our 2015 LCS Official Rules and the change log which shows side-by-side rule changes from 2014.
  • The 2015 LCS ruleset contains updates to several policies including: peripherals, substitutions, poaching, player apparel, and competitive patches.
  • The ruleset also includes the addition of previously outlined policies such as Regional Residency Requirement (Interregional Movement Policy), Work Eligibility, Head Coaches, Sale of Sponsorships, Championship Points, and Automatic Relegation.

Adding new rules to the LCS ruleset Adding new rules to the LCS ruleset begins with us isolating a problem or issue that might affect competitive integrity, players, teams, or any other element of the game. Most rule changes originate from our day-to-day experiences with the League (e.g. work eligibility or other issues), but it can also reach us through feedback from teams, owners, and players. Once a problem is clear, we research the best ways of tackling it -- including reviewing best practices, working through it internally, troubleshooting for potential loopholes and discussing with our international teams -- before we draft up new rules or make tweaks to existing ones. We want our ruleset to represent the interests of pros and teams as well as the overall health of the League. We conduct multiple rounds of review to make sure that we’re considering all potential loopholes and complications. After the policy is complete, we share it with teams and provide context on how it will work in action. You can now read our 2015 LCS Official Rules and our change log that show side-by-side rule changes from 2014. Read on for an overview and context on some of the major rule changes for next season.

Peripherals Policy (Sections 5.2 and 5.3)

During Worlds 2014, we began the process of scanning player equipment to ensure the competitive integrity of the devices being used on the stage. Although these scans were a good first step, we are transitioning to adding an additional layer of security to the LAN environment that safeguards against the possibility of modifications being made to devices which could jeopardize the fairness of an LCS match. Starting this year, all peripherals used in the LCS will be stored at the studio:
  • Each LCS team will be required to submit two sets of peripherals (two mice and two keyboards) for each player on their Active Roster to the League. One set will be used as the primary set, the other set will be a backup.
  • These peripherals will need to be factory-sealed, unopened, brand new devices. Upon receipt, the peripherals will be kept in a secured box onsite and not returned to the players without LCS supervision.
  • On LCS days, the following will happen:
    • Players’ peripherals will be in stage loading area for player pickup.
    • Players will use these peripherals during the match and, upon completion of the match, the peripherals will be returned to the secured location. Players are not to remove their peripherals from the stage loading area.
This will remove any doubt regarding breaks in the chain of ownership, because at no point will these peripherals be outside of LCS supervision. LCS officials will be tasked throughout the year with transporting the peripherals to each venue when we need to travel for events. We understand that factory-new equipment, even if identical to the model used daily in practice at home, often feels different to players from using broken-in equipment. We’re making accommodations to make players as comfortable as possible with the peripherals including allowing players to test the equipment at the studio before the season begins and transferring keycaps from familiar keyboards to new ones on request.

Substitution Policies (Sections 3.2 and 3.5)

First, all substitutes must be currently ranked at Diamond V or above on the solo queue ranked ladder to be eligible for inclusion on an LCS roster. We want to encourage teams to field serious substitute players and limit the potential abuse of teams registering substitutes just to take advantage of the benefits and privileges of being an LCS team member. Second, in the event of an emergency, a team will be given up to two hours from the scheduled game start to find an immediate substitute. Our previous policy was teams that could not field a full roster in time for their LCS match had to auto-forfeit. This is a new accommodation that stems from our goal to give teams the opportunity to field a team in the event of a legitimate, short term emergency. We looked at other possibilities including rescheduling and postponing matches. In any given week, a team undertakes a significant amount of preparation for their upcoming matchups and forcing a reschedule would greatly affect all teams involved. In the interest of fairness, we want to avoid postponing games whenever possible to avoid unfairly burdening opposing teams. We also explored delaying our broadcast indefinitely to wait for a team to get a replacement, Ultimately, delaying the broadcast beyond two hours puts an unrealistic strain on LCS viewers and the opposing team in studio. Although we empathize that emergencies such as a player falling ill are very difficult situations, ultimately forfeits are very avoidable if teams have substitutes who are available to relieve players. We have urged team owners to take availability on short notice into account as a criteria when recruiting substitute players for this season.

Sponsorship (Section 3.7.6)

Last season, a game publisher requested to sponsor an LCS team and have that team officially promote a competing game. We communicated to owners that given our goals and investment in growing the LCS, it would be counter-productive if LCS teams and players were sponsored by Riot Games' competitors. This year, we are transitioning into an official policy for the sake of transparency, since we'd like to be open about our stance on this topic. The LCS is a core experience for League of Legends players and Riot Games. It serves as a platform for and celebration of some of the very best that League of Legends has to offer. While there are many great games out there -- and we play many of them ourselves -- we don't believe it's in the interest of the LCS to have the League used as an advertising platform by competing games, publishers, etc. To clarify, we are totally cool with LCS pros casually playing and streaming video games of their choice in their free time.

Player and Coach Apparel (Section 5.4)

We’ll be requiring players to wear matching uniforms next season. In addition to leveling up the presentation of the League, uniforms promote team identity and make it easier for long-time fans and newcomers to distinguish between players on different teams (and root for them). We also want to emphasize the professionalism of coaches and distinguish them from players, so Head Coaches will be required to wear at least business casual attire during LCS days.

Competitive Patch (Section 8.4)

In the past, the delay between the live patch and LCS play was two weeks, while new champions and reworks were disabled for one month. After consulting with teams and in an effort to make competitive play align more consistently with what’s available to all players, we are shortening our new champion/rework activation cadence to two weeks. LCS officials still reserve the right to disable a champion or item if there are game-changing bugs.

No Poaching or Tampering (Section 10.2.13)

As seen in some recent rulings, tampering and poaching have been hot-button issues in the LCS. Team Members or Affiliates are currently not allowed to discuss the employment status of Team Members who are signed with other teams in the LCS. Based on feedback from owners and to better address concerns about this issue in the future, we are updating this rule with a process that must be followed to inquire about the status of a team member. It's currently permissible for management of one team to pursue a player contracted with another team provided that they secure permission from management of that player's team. During the inquiry between management of the two teams wishing to discuss the status of a contracted team member, visibility for LCS officials is now required. This can be accomplished simply by CCing an LCS official in the contact email between management. Our goal is not to get LCS officials involved in negotiations - that’s between the teams and players. We’re simply there to make sure that if there's a dispute, there is a clear record with a neutral third party (LCS officials) of whether permission was requested and granted.

Conclusion

While this post doesn’t address all the changes in the rules, we hope this additional context helped explain the major changes coming in the upcoming season’s rules. We’ve been working with owners, coaches, teams, and pros in advance of the season start to give them time to comply with our new policies. We look forward to sharing an exciting season of the LCS with all of you and we’ll continue to provide context and considerations on upcoming League changes. If you’d like to learn more about the implementation of previously outlined changes and updates such as Regional Residency Requirement (Interregional Movement Policy), Championship Points or Automatic Relegation, please reference the full rule set here.

41 Comments

Athene1/21/2015, 5:40:36 AM10 votes

TL;DR of new rules;

  • LCS players need to buy new stuff and leave it at LCS Headquarters, making each player feel awkward with new items
  • You can pull people out of the crowd to play for your team if a roster member can't make it
  • LCS players can't be sponsored by games like Hearthstone. Sorry Link.
  • LCS players/coaches must all match, to make LCS more fabulous. Taric approves.
  • Everything in LCS is now 2 weeks behind. Whats new.
  • LCS Players must wait until they're out of a job before looking for a new job.

That's all folks, stay tuned for the next episode of Riot Jokes!

Jhnny1/21/2015, 4:16:19 AM9 votes

so if teams will be required to where a uniform.. can we please get LCS Team jersey's available to the public? a la NHL/NFL etc. Some teams have an active store, however some cough CLG cough don't.

Please Riot, great opportunity here.

Luka The Angel1/21/2015, 2:07:12 PM6 votes

I don't know why there is so much cynicism. Almost all of these changes are great. No, infact, all of these changes are great.

They are putting in anti cheating provisions that make it almost impossible to cheat. That's extremely wise, and very farsighted. With games like CS;GO starting to experience controversy after controversy about cheating and match fixing, this step is incredibly smart from them.

Allowing people to rush over a sub from the gaming house is a really thoughtful change, making teams wear uniforms is something that all real sports do, and all top professional teams in esports are doing anyways.

Being forward and honest about their policies regarding competing games is good, and ofcourse they aren't going to advertise their competition! If you thought they would i have some serious doubts about your understanding of business.

Making sure they are in the loop about team acquisitions also doesn't hurt, and could possibly help if accusations keep arising.

However that last one is the only one i want more from them on. They need to give all players a mandatory free bird phase after each season, where a player can entertain any offer he wants, even if he is under contract. But it should be short, like 2 weeks, and during the trasnition between the last major tournament and the new season of lcs.

But that is probably a pipe dream. Anyhow, I am usually quite critical of riot when they make mistakes or do things in a dumb/nearsighted manner, but seriously. These changes aren't anything to complain about, and infact, i think they are all good changes that really SHOULD be there.

Flamen Fresca1/21/2015, 12:47:05 AM6 votes

This was published on Wednesday the 21st yet it is still the 20th... Nick Allen from the future confirmed.

IT GAME THRONE1/21/2015, 2:39:21 AM4 votes

So the poaching dilemma was made just a tad bit more strict.. lol, not what anyone at all gave a fuck about. At the very least should allow a player of any team to contact another team's management under their own discretion regarding the future of their career. Though I don't think this has ever even been a specific issue, team's arguments as clg's was was that players should feel more than comfortable about what's going to be available next for them if their contracts coming to an end..

Thulack1/21/2015, 3:22:11 AM4 votes

A player should have the right in the last month of his contract to talk to other teams without managements consent. Also there should be a signing period for players so that during that last month of a contract there arent any competitive matches that might cause issues with said player.

Angry Monster1/21/2015, 1:06:41 AM3 votes

Who wrote this? so many loop holes if someone actually took them to court.

Sony1/21/2015, 2:46:53 AM3 votes

Good stuff, Riot.

ElysMustache1/21/2015, 12:42:28 AM3 votes

Parc ferme for peripherals. About time, really.

Tfeenz1/21/2015, 12:27:56 AM2 votes

y nick olen

butthoel1/21/2015, 12:34:48 AM2 votes

c00l

Blunts4Brekfast1/21/2015, 7:06:00 AM2 votes

lol @ a solo q requirement for being a sub.

If im on 4 challanger 5v5 ranked teams it shouldnt matter what my rank is in casual ranked Q where there are a ton of flamers and no teamwork.

Solo queue is so casual compared to rank. Not suitable to be a requirement at all.

thunderingice1/21/2015, 6:30:31 PM2 votes

Why did we make the poaching rules better for the team owners and not the players? The rules are already heavily biased against players. Only team owners would want it to favor team owners even more. The players are the ones who have been getting screwed so far from what I can see. Let players talk about their future and then create huge penalties for players that abuse the power.

Darkwind1/21/2015, 12:47:46 PM1 votes

8.7.6 Trading Champions. Teams must complete all champion trades before the 20-second mark during the Trading Phase, or will be subject to a penalty in future games.

You might notice that this penalty is meaningless if they play no future games. The team could, according to the letter of this rule, swap champs at the last second in the final game of the summer split and have no penalties, assuming I'm not missing anything...

Blue Witness1/21/2015, 3:48:06 AM1 votes

It's strange that they are not taking sponsorships from other games. This is one of the glimpses of dictatorship that Riot shows in its policies, which greatly take away from making competitive League respectable and takes away from giving it space to grow.

DeusExCognitio3/1/2016, 7:19:17 PM1 votes

it really is harsh, and painful looking through all the changes to league since S1. as if its not already frustrating enough that the game caters to its e-sports aspect, potentially alienating 98% of its player base in favor of the 2% that compete in tournaments and net big $$$ . i can live with that, truly. its rough, but its their game, their property, their choice. im personally grateful that the devs are still trying so hard to keep non-competitive ranked fun. the issue i have looking through this... is the gate. and its a wall that will only get higher.

its an issue i've had since i first saw competitions and tournaments referred to as "e-sports" a national, or global tournament is a huge deal, and should be made to be such. but creating an environment like a genuine competitive league is violently unfair in an online mmo. for the majority of gamers that play games like league and others falling rapidly into similar behavior.... the entertainment to be had is in increasing your skill, and being slowly recognized for it. and the beauty of online gaming is in that any1 can achieve this. money, power, influence... these things mean nothing in an mmo.

taking an ideal many gamers hold so sacred, and making it into just another facet of our world... it truly is frustrating. looking through these rules and noting that even if a non-sponsored team without a coach could qualify, they would need to be able to shell out THOUSANDS in cash, and still would need connections for things like special order uniforms (and they would likely be shut out regardless of talent or requisites being met, as having no sponsor causes several issues in a competitive environment where almost a full majority are sponsored.)

to summarize. i love league. i really do. but having the game warp more and more to cater to a select aspect that the majority of the player base is unable to participate in.... seems rough. i'd say rude, or discrespectful.... but as i said. its their game, their property. its their right to run it as they find neccessary. but you don't see kids playing street ball or backyard football having no choice but to play by official NBA or NFL rules and reg. thats the simple problem here. e-sports are based off of mmo's that are played by millions. i don't have an issue with the game changing to keep up. thats fine. my problem is when u need to have thousands of dollars in sponsors, a full on colored team, and a complete sports roster to compete on the global level. it takes the virtual aspect out entirely. the world that has been created and designed to be immersive and entertaining, is now just a mirror of present day real-world sports. find connections, get scouted, find a sponsor. otherwise you will never be recognized for having value.

there are people in this world with the potential to take sports like football, soccer, MMA, any of it by absolute storm. but only so very few are ever presented with the opportunity. mmo's let us escape this by putting us in a world where regardless of who we are and how little value we hold, we can be one of the best with enough talent and effort. rules like these simply mean that this year, in S6 worlds.... the "world champions" are the best out of the few prodigies that had the support and backing to step onto a stage designed for the prominent. in my honest opinion, these people are in the upper echelon regardless. but i would say that if not for the many barriers present, a bare minimum of 4 or 5 teams could be made from lost diamonds scattered in the rough. i am most certainly not one of these. but 4 or 5 teams worth of lost prodigies is far more than likely. and not just competitive souls, but players that could redefine future competitive rosters, and likely force out at least one or 2 sponsored teams from the circuits altogether. this world is simply too big for that to be impossible.

simply put, i hate the thought of the online gaming industry turning into just another shallow reflection of our world. and the more e-sports succeed, the more likely it becomes that a majority of mmo's in the future will simply turn into competitive leagues and organizations, full of rules and regulations that are aimed at the few, but forced onto the many. NFL players have no choice but to follow their rules. college football is the same. but the simple difference is these people have to adhere to rules for a system they are already a part of, and have the right to participate in.

if one day i make diamond 1, and i want to make a team and shoot for worlds... that should be my choice. i shouldn't need to have enough influence to set up sponsorship, and coaching, and leadership, and a million other things... just so i have the right to participate in the one and a million chance i make it. if i am a league player, i should have the right to try to become a competitive league player, without needing to become Riot's next New York Yankees.

that, is my simple beef. in my mind, being ranked as the best in the world at something is meaningless unless every1 has a right to try and take it from me. otherwise, i can't truly say i am the best in the world, knowing that there are thousands stronger than me that simply never got to try.

Nyzos1/21/2015, 10:52:02 PM1 votes

So the new peripheals thing is kinda funny. They said they would put old Keycaps on new keyboard if asked, I would totally be a dick and be like, Yea..... I want all of my keys from this keyboard, on that keyboard..........

The matching thing, I feel like all the teams pretty much match now, but TSM totally went overboard, from head to toe. I can't see how this will really effect the rest of the teams, but I hope they aren't forced to wear the same pants and shoes too.

Kappafox Dyrone1/22/2015, 2:52:46 AM1 votes

wow riot Nazi Germany confirmed

jimmyripperx1/23/2015, 9:20:33 PM1 votes

item 3085 item 3116 item 3115 item 1058 summoner 4 summoner 14 Leave a comment toGnar for AP

Kris ID1/26/2015, 3:43:13 AM1 votes

For all stars, they should do it like season 3 where they make a team out of the fan favorites for each region. I didn't like the way they did it in the last season because its just basically another 'worlds'. Anyone agree?

TrollFan013/23/2015, 2:54:32 AM1 votes

How are the players paid now? It used to be $450 a game but with the reduced schedule what is it now?

2 Late U Die1/21/2015, 4:29:36 AM1 votes

Well Ill stream I guess http://www.twitch.tv/2_late_u_die

Exhibition2198/15/2015, 6:26:11 PM1 votes

Just curious, but has anyone found out what game was trying to be sponsored by an LCS team. I have a feeling it might have been HOTS, but that's only because Blizzard/Activision feel like they could do whatever they want.