2015 LCS Summer Split rules changes

Before we add or modify any policy in the LCS ruleset, we go through an in-depth process as outlined in our changes to the 2015 LCS official rules post at the start of the season. To provide context and transparency around our policy decisions, here’s a recap of some of critical rule changes that we’re implementing for the LCS Summer Split.

Best Interests of LCS (Section 11.3)

In rare circumstances, new issues can emerge in the LCS that are not covered by the official ruleset. Some of these issues can be resolved in the following split’s rule changes but some situations require immediate action, To address this, we’re adding a rule that would allow LCS officials to rule on emergent matters in areas not directly covered in our ruleset. This wouldn’t be an extension of authority, but would allow us to pivot quickly when pro, team or competitive integrity are threatened - for example in the case of Kori/MYM - and to be precise about what needs to change rather than invoking a general clause. This ruling will only be used in extreme circumstances that requires immediate attention in order to protect the health of the LCS and we’ll always give full context into how we weighed our decisions when any major actions are taken.

Substitution Policies (Sections 3.2 and 3.5)

Mid-Series and Mid-Week Substitutions With the evolution of competitive League of Legends, we’ve seen substitutes become more integral to the team. Currently in the LCS, substitutes are used mainly as a backup plan in case of an emergency. We want to continue to reinforce the value of substitute players so we’re introducing of Mid-Series and Mid-Week Substitutions into the LCS. This would mean that teams can change their roster between Day 1 and Day 2 of an LCS week - and between games within a series during Playoffs. By allowing Mid-Series and Mid-Week Substitutions, we’d be able to bring an additional level of strategy to an LCS team. Since this is a significant change to the League, for Playoffs we’re going to cap rosters at six. Depending on how we feel this change is received, we may adjust that number in the future. This change also provides stability and additional value for substitute players to LCS teams by offering more potential for experience on the LCS stage. We want substitute players to continue to be a valued part of the LCS and any team roster. Increasing Mandatory Substitutes We want to continue to ensure that teams are able to field a roster when emergencies arise. With the current minimum substitute limit, we still see situations where teams struggle to properly fill their roster in emergencies. In order to ensure that teams are able to continue to compete even in an emergency, we are increasing the mandatory minimum substitute players required from two to three. More eligible players would provide a better opportunity for teams to always be able to maintain a roster and allow for more flexible, strategic decisions to be made with their lineup. Increasing the Minimum Ranking of Substitute Players We want to encourage teams to field serious substitute players and limit the potential abuse of teams registering substitutes who may not be a legitimate competitive asset if called upon. For Summer Split, we’re increasing the minimal ranking to Diamond III from Diamond V. We’ll continue to monitor the minimum ranking over time of substitute players to ensure players are meeting the minimal level of skill to compete among the talent in the LCS.

Clarifying Residency Status for Interregional Movement Policy (Section 1.2.9)

The interregional movement policy (IMP) serves an important purpose in helping regions to balance between local and foreign talent in their professional and semi-professional teams. We are streamlining IMP classifications in an effort to improve clarity. Players have in the past been categorized as “Residents,” (Rs) “Exempt Non-Residents,” (ENRs) and “Non-Residents” (NRs.) We are now eliminating the ENR classification and have asked all players who were formerly ENRs to make a choice of which region they would like to declare as their sole region of residency. That means a player who could play as an ENR in NA or a Resident in Korea will now have to commit to one region for the duration of this split. While we want to clarify the policy, given that this change is happening in between LCS splits we also want to make sure players aren't feeling stuck between playing for their current team or being able to leave EU/NA next year. As a result, while we are having former ENRs declare which one region they want to be a resident of for this split, we will also allow them to re-declare residency again prior to the start of the 2016 season. TL;DR: No more ENR classification, and all players will only be eligible to be a resident of one region beginning in 2016.

Playoffs Side Selection (Section 8.7.3)

To prevent last minute side selection from being used as a strategic advantage and allow teams to more properly prepare for Playoffs, we’re requiring that all teams lock their side selection choices along with their starting roster 72 hours before the start of their series. This allows all teams to have equal time and information to prepare for Playoffs and prevent delayed side selection confirmations from being leveraged as potential competitive advantage.

Conclusion

We hope this additional context helps outline how these critical changes will impact the upcoming split. To review the formal language of the outlined policies or review all changes, reference the official 2015 LCS Ruleset and our changelog which shows side-by-side changes from Spring Split.