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2018 Academy League Spring Split

Riot·12/19/2017, 8:54:43 PM·2 votes·28,970 views

TL;DR:

  • The Academy League broadcast begins on Friday, January 19. Due to some changes we are making to broadcast times, we will be announcing what time the first game begins in January.
  • Games happen on Thursdays and Fridays. Thursday’s games will be played off-air, while Friday’s games will be broadcasted.
  • Spring Split is a double round robin Bo1, taking place over 9 weeks, similar to the NA LCS.
  • The top four teams will advance to Bo5 Playoffs, taking place over two weeks. All of the Playoffs will be broadcast live from the NA LCS Studio.

When we announced our plans for 2018, we shared our vision for rebooting the NA Challenger Series with the Academy League. Before the holidays, we wanted to share a quick update on what’s happening, including format, dates, and when you can expect additional details.

Format

Regular Season

Initially we were exploring doing just a single Bo1, broadcasting Friday, but the feedback from teams was that they wanted to get as many games as possible into the regular season (particularly given the Academy League’s developmental nature) even at the cost of exposure or time on broadcast. As such, we’ve decided to adopt the same format shift as the NA LCS, going to a Bo1 double round robin that plays over Thursday and Friday, but with only broadcast support for Friday.

The regular season of the Academy League will take place over 9 weeks. Thursday’s games will be played off-air, and Friday’s games will be broadcasted. The first week of Academy League Spring Split will take place on Thursday, January 18 (off-broadcast), with the first broadcast beginning Friday, January 19.

Playoffs

After the regular season, the top 4 teams will advance to the playoffs, which will be broadcasted live and on stage at the NA LCS Studio. Playoffs will be Bo5, with Semifinals on March 22-23 and Finals on March 30.

What’s coming next?

We wanted to share the Academy League format and Spring Split schedule before the holidays, and we’ll share more information in January including broadcast details, start time, match schedule, rosters, and VOD availability.

We’re excited about the upcoming launch the Academy League to develop and support the future stars of the NA LCS.

Derek “RiotIceChest” Dennis manages programs focused on amateur or upcoming talent including the Academy League and Scouting Grounds. When he’s not watching League of Legends (he always has a stream on), he’s watching football and soccer. Reach out to him on Twitter via @RiotIceChest.

20 Comments

Nate GG12/20/2017, 8:12:14 PM8 votes

I think everyone is missing the point of this league. The main goal of the Academy League is to foster new and upcoming talent that the orgs could look to move into their main NALCS rosters in the future. Yes, the removal of promotion and relegation will mean there will be less reason to watch these games for fans but that's alright because it was necessary to stabilize the scene and allow for overall growth. Academy league is for the Orgs involved and not so much for the fans. Think of it like Minor League Baseball. Some people watch it for fun or whatever but few people really get passionate about these teams because the leagues goal is to find outstanding players to move to the MLB. I definitely expect to see a decline in high price imports playing in Academy like we have seen before, and over the next few years, expect to see a lot more new players coming from NA challenger. As for Romain's point, I also expect newer teams like Optic for example to take the route of using as little money as possible for their Academy teams, mostly because they are going to be focusing more on upgrading their main LCS roster first. We are most likely to see teams like TSM, CLG, C9 and Liquid fielding the best Academy rosters for the first few years since the other teams will be looking to upgrade their main LCS rosters before looking to grow talent over the long term.

TheNovaProspect12/20/2017, 12:41:59 AM4 votes

Are we able to come to the studio and watch these games during the regular Season?

TheeBull12/19/2017, 9:37:27 PM3 votes

I'm the first comment!!!! Whats my prize???

LuxannaVeritas12/20/2017, 4:52:38 AM3 votes

Out of curiosity, since now there's no such thing as relegation, what are these Academy teams playing for? Is it just for satisfaction, or is there some risk/reward to this League?

SciFi Scrivener12/20/2017, 5:21:02 PM2 votes

Looking forward to seeing the new talent that is found in the Academy league. I hope the Thursday games are able to be streamed VOD. Commentators are not necessary.

AriCei12/20/2017, 3:56:19 PM2 votes

Pretty pointless for fans, but might be good for the teams? Might also just be another cut into their profits and a headache though. That would more be the riot special, so colour me pessimistic 😂

KAID012/20/2017, 5:00:13 AM1 votes

Is the academy series like the challenger series where a tournament is played to see which team can get in or is it like the na lcs where are the teams are final (hopefully not because there has to be a at least one tournament where you and friends can get in by skill).

HBLGF1/7/2018, 2:56:16 PM1 votes

Waiting for Levi's performance in 100 Thieves Academy:3

KajoKeji1/13/2018, 2:53:04 AM1 votes

I am trying to understand better. The Academy League will be one of two primary tools for NALCS teams to acquire talent. The Academy League pulls from universities while the Scouting ground pulls from the rest of NALCS players. So if you are a fan who would like to improve and one day play for NALCS your only options are through one of the two feeder systems; is that correct? If I am correct, this seems to make it rather hard for a person outside of the college system to get in. They miss the advantage of playing on a team they know, and might not perform well with the random group of people they are paired with for scouting grounds. This does seem like a good step for the university system, though it seems to me the number of teams competing could be expanded. This based on all the college and university teams that are out there. This system, while a stabilizing effect for riot, seems to miss out on a lot of potential talent in the player base. It is also a disincentive for players who are not young or in the right college programs. That is my opinion.

GangerHrolf1/23/2018, 3:25:23 PM1 votes

This league is exactly like the minor leagues for other sports. No promotion, but player development is important. We all saw how as soon as franchising happened, big time owners and sponsors joined the league, so although I was initially sad I'm now fully ok with the switch. I do however find it funny that "the feedback from teams was that they wanted to get as many games as possible into the regular season (particularly given the Academy League’s developmental nature) even at the cost of exposure or time on broadcast." Aka: no one wanted best of one.