2017 NA LCS Changes

Riot·Dec 14, 2016·2 votes·132,846 views

TL;DR: In 2017, we’ll be introducing expedited arbitration for ruling disputes, new lines of digital goods, Head Coach poaching protection, and expanded team rosters. We’ll also be increasing the prize pool, revising our policy around NA LCS-Challenger Sister Teams, and updating relegation.

As 2016 comes to a close, we’re excited to launch what we hope will be our best season of the NA LCS yet. As we begin the counting down to the start of the Spring Split on January 20, we wanted to share context and explanation behind some of the changes coming to the NA LCS. Some changes are organic policy updates to older rules and others were made as a result of ongoing collaboration with players, managers, owners, and coaches.

What’s changing?

Arbitration: As we said during an interview earlier this year, we’ll be introducing an expedited process for teams to contest a ruling regarding an NA LCS ruleset violation. With this change, our goal is to provide an independent body to give both Riot and affected teams an opportunity to validate and present their findings after a serious judgment, without putting an overly burdensome cost on the team or player. Teams will now be able to present their own evidence, as well as review the evidence against them, and make arguments to a neutral, experienced arbitrator. This arbitration process will only be offered for judgments resulting in the following:

A suspension of 1 or more games
A fine of $10,000 USD or more

In the case of more complicated disputes, such as those involving termination from the NA LCS, teams can still choose to utilize the traditional form of arbitration. The primary difference between traditional and expedited is the amount of time allocated for discovery and presentation of evidence, and the greater costs that can incur. Whether a team or player chooses the expedited version or the traditional version, the process will be conducted by JAMS, a well-established commercial arbitration firm, unless both parties agree on a different arbitration body.

New Digital Goods: Across all of our regions, creating more opportunities for fans to show their allegiance with in-game content has long been a goal, and in 2017 we believe we can take some further steps in this direction. With the recent launch of LCU Beta, we’re still exploring new content opportunities outside of summoner icons for next year (more on that in a future post). To demonstrate our commitment to those additional digital products, every NA LCS team will be guaranteed a minimum of $50,000 of new digital product revenue per split (in addition to their existing revenue from team icons). The minimum digital line revenue also ensures a guaranteed income for new teams as they continue to grow their fan base.

Head Coach Protection: Since we’ve introduced the official position of Head Coach to the NA LCS, we’ve seen the direct impact that coaches provide to our teams. We’ll be extending an additional level of security and support to protect their Head Coach and the investment that teams have made in them. Therefore, Head Coaches will now have the same contract requirements and poaching protection as our pro players, and will be listed in the Global Contract Database.

Inactive Roster: As teams continue to import talented players from outside of the NA region, the complexities around roster management and work eligibility increase. This year, we’ve sought a solution that will allow pros to be committed to a team (and gain poaching protection) while still applying for their work eligibility or serving out the end of a suspension. The new inactive roster will allow NA LCS teams to add up to 3 "inactive" players to their roster during that interim phase. These "inactive" players will still count against the team's maximum of 10 rostered players, but will not be permitted to play in any League match until they are eligible to move to the Active Roster.

Given the 10 player maximum, here’s the breakdown of what NA LCS team rosters could look like in 2017:

Active Roster: 5 players (the starting line-up)
Reserve Roster: 2-5 players (substitutes who can be swapped into to the active roster)
Inactive Roster: 0-3 players (players affiliated with a team but currently not eligible to play)

Prize Pool: We’ve increased the LCS prize pool to $200,000 per split. With rising salaries and minimum compensation requirements in the NA LCS, prize pools aren’t the main driver of competition. However, we want to continue to provide improved compensation as our League continues to grow and mature.

LCS-Challenger Sister Teams: We’ve always had two goals with Challenger: offer an organized semi-pro league where aspiring pros can develop their talent, and create a path for the best new teams in North America to make its way into the LCS. With that in mind, we’re making one big change to the Challenger Series: we will continue to allow NA LCS teams to operate a Challenger team in 2017, although those teams will not be permitted to participate in the Promotion Tournament. They can participate in the Challenger Playoffs and earn prize money, but if they would qualify for the Promotion Tournament, we will instead invite the next highest placed team with no affiliation with a current LCS organization. Further, to ensure that we have a sufficient number of competitive teams eligible to compete in the Promotion Tournament, we will only be permitting 3 of the 6 Challenger Series slots to be occupied by NA LCS-affiliated teams.

Relegation: We believe it’s important to the overall health and entertainment value of the NA LCS to balance the relegation risk that teams face with a competitive and engaging league. With new organizations entering the NA LCS, we want to provide opportunities for teams to grow by building their fanbase but still ensuring the best teams remain in the League. As such, we will no longer be sending the 8th place LCS team into the Promotion Tournament. However, the NA LCS 9th place and 10th place, as well as NA CS 1st place and 2nd place teams, will continue to participate in the Promotion Tournament at the end of the Spring Split. Given this change, the Promotion Tournament will now utilize a double elimination Bo5 format or “dual-style”. It means win twice - you’re in, lose twice - you’re out.

All NA LCS teams have been made aware of this change well in advance of the 2017 Season.

What about the format and schedule?

Every season, we actively evaluate if the format and schedule are meeting the goals of creating competitive and entertaining matches. While we’ve only had one split of Best of 3s, we’ve seen the benefits and positive feedback from fans, teams, coaches, and pros. With the increased number of games from moving to the Bo3 format, we’re able to provide fans with flexibility and opportunity to watch the games that matter to them. We know dual streams aren’t perfect but we’ll continue to refine our schedule and broadcast experience. Look forward to our Spring Split schedule release with gameday matches in early January.

What’s next?

When we get closer to the start of Spring Split, we’ll share the final 2017 NA LCS Ruleset and our changelog, as well as the match schedule.

We hope this recap helps add context behind the changes to the upcoming NA LCS season. We look forward to kicking off the 2017 NA LCS Season with you on Friday, January 20.

Bear Schmiedicker, yes, Bear is his real name, is one of the NA LCS Leads. Besides leading the NA LCS team, he works with a group that is focused on pro player career/personal development. He previously led and grew the NA Player Support team at Riot and has had a long history and passion for Esports. When he isn’t on the Rift or the NA LCS studio, he’s chasing around two corgis (Appa and Korra). On Twitter, he’s just @bearfromspace.

65 Comments

ThatHaleStateDec 14, 201623 votes

Milestones of improvement here Rito. I approve, and thank you greatly for cooperating with the Teams to make the LCS an even better experience for every single person involved.

Leon EtoileDec 14, 201611 votes

I'm happy with how they kept relegation and made it a means to weed out bottom feeders.

You don't hope a team is relegated and keeps the LCS from having teams like the Browns or 76ers.

ParkwayyDec 14, 20162 votes

Man, after 4 seasons of relegation based LCS, we still have shit tier teams, and always will. It's not like either LCS region is a super powerhouse.

Leon EtoileDec 15, 20166 votes

You realize every region runs relegations...

NA and EU being shit has nothing to do with relegation system. You should look at work ethic, motivation, respecting infrastructure and much more of Western culture than relegations.

SteefnessJan 4, 20172 votes

Although, now the 76ers do have a team in the LCS. Beware of the tanking!

Leon EtoileJan 5, 20172 votes

Exactly why we need to keep regulations

SteefnessJan 7, 20171 votes

I'm all for relegation (which is what i think you meant there), just thought it was funny you mentioned the often accused of tanking 76ers when they now own DIG.

Leon EtoileJan 9, 20171 votes

Ikr... the future of e-sports is ruined now

architectusDec 14, 20166 votes

i like to see what affects blizzards new leagues will have on esports. hopefully blizzard can be a major competitor and make Riot work a little harder. the change about Arbitration is a joke, the fact that it is happening in Season 7 is crazy. should of have that change in season 3 when lcs started.

FflarnDec 17, 20167 votes

Doubtful. Big organizations left and right are dumping their Heroes of the Storm teams and the one time I paid attention to Overwatch being played at IEM it had less than 30k viewers on Twitch. This is understandable, because spectating Overwatch is not enjoyable at all (to me), and from some eSports blogs I've read, I am not alone in that opinion.

Shaylas PepegaDec 22, 20163 votes

Yea, a lot of people have talked about how the Overwatch eSport viewing platform is messy and hard to follow, where as LoL, DoTA, or CS's platforms are way more organized and viewer-friendly. So until Blizzard decides to change that, I don't think Overwatch eSports will be a huge thing...

coeurloyalDec 28, 20161 votes

I agree with those that have stated that it's less about Blizzard deciding to change it and them figuring out what works best. We haven't had a spectator e-sport that's quite as frantic as OW, and it's going to take some time. I think it's more just a matter of them being able to get there.

Not trying to defend the casting we've seen so far; I love me some OW but that stuff was almost impossible to enjoy spectating.

SKT HybridDec 15, 20166 votes

Riot this is very impressive. I think not only have you listened to Owners, but players and fans as well. I understand we won't be able to make this perfect overnight, but with this hard work to meet in a middle ground, there can only be progression! <3 Happy Holidays everyone!

MordecaiThe3rdDec 14, 20164 votes

Really happy with a lot of these changes! Bear is a cool ass name as well

NoobGoesBoomDec 17, 20164 votes

Am I correct in that this change to "Sister teams" will prevent what I'm pretty sure I noticed (while casually watching NA CS competitions) last year... where pro's from LCS teams would be benched on their LCS team to be "loaned" to sister teams so they could S***stomp actual amateur teams and basically have the same pro players get/keep multiple teams in LCS? Maybe I am misunderstanding what went on, but I seem to remember Seraph and Hai jumping between LCS and CS rosters; as well as other players who unless I'm missing something were IN the LCS while competing in promo tourneys for alternate/sister teams?

coeurloyalDec 28, 20161 votes

Yes, they can still keep pros in their pockets for swapping between CS/LCS. However, those teams are no longer eligible to go for promotion. They could previously (i.e., TL and C9C in Promotions), but in those situations the team then had to sell the slot to another team (i.e., C9 selling to DIG) or transfer the roster to new ownership. Teams were not allowed to have multiple active LCS teams since the days of CLG EU.

SteefnessJan 4, 20171 votes

DIG acquired Apex's spot, not C9C's. Though I guess if you want to get technical, Apex and DIG were purchased by the Philadelphia 76ers and merged into one team under the Dignitas flag.

Miror BDec 15, 20163 votes

Massive shame that they didn't include all the EU changes, as although they're somewhat similar the shift to the LPL style in EU should make things rather fun.

I'm also confused as to why they decided to shift the challenger thing, as although it makes 1 more LCS spot safe let's not forget that in 2016 we had 1 8th place team relegated (s04) and could potentially have 2 more with the way the bottom teams of NA/EU are shaping up.

FudokaDec 19, 20162 votes

This is an article about the NA LCS changes.

Miror BDec 19, 20161 votes

{quoted}

This is an article about the NA LCS changes.

Yeah, and there wasn't a similar one for the EULCS changes (which are not only in larger quantity but also more impactful to the scene).

INYOURFACEJan 8, 20171 votes

Well now there is http://eu.lolesports.com/en/articles/eu-lcs-2017-format

Arc AngelsDec 21, 20161 votes

From what I've heard EU is changing to a BO3, and having two groups, that get seeded by team picks, almost like a draft, that bases off of regular season placement

ThrowsForDaysDec 15, 20163 votes

The big thing that's bothered me in competitive play recently (last year or two) is the swapping a sub in and out during a BO3/5/whatever when there is no injury or reason to other than x player isn't good at playing this comp we want to run. I feel like a player should have to be used for an entire best of series, I know some people think for lcs for example a player should have to be played for an entire weekend and be declared as playing in advance (unless due to extenuating circumstance) as it effects how a team can prepare for that upcoming week. I assume with this defining of the rosters into starting, sub and inactive that this is not going to change subbing in and out during a series, which if certain teams are constantly subbing players in and out or like liquid planned on rotating 10 players in and out as the split progressed what is the point of a main/starting roster and the distinction?

FflarnDec 18, 20164 votes

The purpose of a sub doesn't necessarily mean that the starter is the best and the sub is less good. For instance, in Football you might have three running backs, one is your main runner, one has better hands for going into a pass play, and the third is your short yardage gain specialist for first downs and breaking the plane of the end zone. I can imagine a scenario where, for instance, a team has two top laners, one that specializes in tanks and one that specializes in carries. Of course, the problem arises that eSports are less dynamic than live sports since the player has to be selected before ban phase begins this tips your hand to the opposing team and guides their bans. It's not like in football where you can bring in your short yardage guy to sell the run and then break a play-action pass.

The smartest (and most troubling from a rules/balance stance) use of the sub roster is what SKT was doing in "best of" matches: Have two good junglers, the one that isn't playing watches the game in spectator mode with the coach in order to see how the enemy jungler clears the jungle and the paths they like to take. If the team wins, no change needs to be made. If the team loses, then the other jungler can be swapped in with this knowledge advantage.

BllackmambaDec 19, 20163 votes

I get everyone will have mixed reviews about the changes, which overall is in the best interest of the NA LCS.

I think player compensation will ultimately be your undoing. I'm well aware you are not getting the advertising dollars that the major sports bring in and esports is still in its growing pains, but as the younger generation continues to grow up you'll see a decline in the major American sports and esports will eventually overtake them because, it's this newer generation that relates to video games more so than NFL, MLB etc.

My point, LoL isn't a city by city team, it's regional, so you don't quite get fan bases that have local pride so they will root for teams or players (what I consider to be most likely the case). There is a reason why Imaqtpie doesn't play in the LCS anymore, it doesn't make any sense fiscally, and he was the ONLY reason anyone watched Dignitas play one minute. But not every NA LCS pro player can bring in those type of streaming numbers to supplement their income or rather, some don't like streaming in general.

All it will really take is for big names that stream (Berg, Sneaky) or big names that seldom stream (Impact, Aphromoo) to essentially create a union or force a CBA against you like every other major sport. Will they? who knows, they are kids after all, but the players bring in most of your viewers which in turn inspires them to turn on your game and pay money for skins and team flair, or champions (Because, let's be honest pro players dictate the meta). There is a reason why 500,000+ people watch "Worlds" this summer (Faker, Bjerg, Smeb, Mata, Sneaky etc).

It's nice to see improvements in that area, but seems like a bad look to say "prize pools aren’t the main driver of competition". You sound like the UFC, greedy, not to mention, it's a sport and entertainment, money will always be a driver, especially for the amount of time they put in and the profits that you make on each teams' likeness, some of them are bound to get fed up.

This was long, sorry.

FflarnDec 20, 20164 votes

I'm going to disagree with you here. Sure, if the LCS is bringing in enough money to justify giving players more compensation then they should, but I'm kind of doubtful on that front as they have zero advertising and only one sponsor. Way back in the infancy of major sports the players also got paid relatively small salaries. I also dispute your claim that major sports will die off, this is often a tradition that passed down from parents to children and is tied to local pride. The Browns, the Bucs, the Cubs, the Patriots, the Siants, the Red Sox, and more have all had periods where their teams were terrible for years but they still had huge fan following because if you were from Cleveland, the Browns were your team.

The un-anchored and extremely transitory nature of LoL eSports teams, both in the fact that they may be relegated or that 3/5 of a team may change overnight promotes a system of bandwagoning fandom, and while that may be good for individual players who can capitalize on their transitory popularity, it is not good for an organization. Case in point, you assert that Imaqtpie was the only reason anyone watched Dignitas play. What about Scarra, who for a good while was right up there in contention for best mid in NA? What about Voyboy, who was in the midst of his dominating years in top lane 2v1ing as Olaf? Heck, when I think of Imaqtpie I always think of that bonehead move where he tried to steal the golems from CLG, blew both summoners, started W on Corki, and gave up first blood; all of which allowed CLG to crush Dignitas (you may gather Imaqtpie is not the reason I ever watched Dignitas).

I will go further an assert that the vast majority of people that watch the LCS and other regional flavors are people who play the game on a semi-regular basis, and that is the true source of popularity for LoL as an eSport. It's not the teams, it's not the players... and we know this because as soon as even popular players leave the sport, no one talks about them anymore. Scarra, Voyboy, Dyrus, Reginald, Alex Ich, Diamondprox (with the exception of Deman, who was always a huge M5/Gambit fanboy), ocelot, Lemonation..... meanwhile if you mention 'best running back' in NFL circles, be prepared to discuss players from fifty years ago as well as the current popular players.

Yes, LoL worlds got 500k+ viewers, and its great that it is expanding. But it's still a far cry from the 20+ million that watched the NBA finals, or the 30+ million that watched the World Series, or the 3.2 billion that watch the world cup.

I think Riot has been doing an admirable job improving their eSport presentation and packaging, certainly no other esport I've watched comes close to the broadcasting quality of Riot's leagues, and I think that helps their brand. That being said, I do think their success hinges upon their game remaining popular. Fortunately, there are no immediate threats on the horizon. Hearthstone is popular, but it is short enough to be played between other games. Blizzard is making other attempts, but Heros of the Storm is already falling and the consensus on Overwatch seems to be 'enjoyable to play, not enjoyable to watch.'

Arc AngelsDec 21, 20164 votes

The 500k viewers of worlds on twitch was only the NA English stream. There are at least 5 other twitch streams to think of, and one of them is China, which gets huge numbers compared to NA. And that doesn't even count the multitude of other streaming services piggybacking off of twitch.

BllackmambaDec 30, 20161 votes

Good point @Arc Angels, I didn't consider the other streams as well, and to tack on, the latest news coming out is Disney/MLB getting streaming rights for LoL of around ~$300 Million, as long as the relationship between the companies is going well, which really means (increased sponsors, increase viewership etc.).

Keep in mind, this is only my speculation, not objective fact, but based on the history of sports in general; this is a defining moment for LoL. When you start to get into hundreds of millions of dollars of sponsorship money, this isn't even including the $1.6 Billion revenue they made in 2015, it brings me back to my original point:

Will the players see any of that money? Is it the teams that draw high viewership or just star players? Or to @Fflarn point, is it the resolve of the likability of the game itself?

I don't have an accurate answer to say why everyone watches the NALCS, LCK, EULCS etc., but I know I watch to see Berg do something awe inspiring, Impact outplay someone, and Aphroo shot call his team to victory. It is fair to say we watch because these players can do things we can't on a daily basis. They certainly give us something to take back into our game if we still play, but I don't so it's entertainment for me, and just like every sport in the US we pay the athletes that entertain us very well; and for their hours of work, they should be well compensated for making Riot's Game more popular.

Darth TedDec 14, 20162 votes

Why is the limit on the Reserve Roster 2-5? Shouldn't it be 1-5? I would think teams are able to have only one substitute player to fill in, right?

wuju boyDec 14, 20163 votes

You've been required to have at least two subs for a while now

Kaiten7Dec 18, 20162 votes

Does this mean BO3 for EU as well? or just NA?

coeurloyalDec 28, 20161 votes

EU LCS runs its own systems and is undergoing its own changes. None of these changes affect EU; however, there are separate posts detailing EU's change to the LPL-style group system.

eKorvoDec 24, 20162 votes

WE WANT MONTECRISTO!!!!!!!!!

PPFDec 28, 20162 votes

You can check this 2 videos (on the tube) to find out why he isn't coming back... "Monte's Musings: Relegations, Franchising, and the Team Revenue Problem in eSports" and "Riot's Renegades Investigation". Captain out

III BAKURYU III Dec 14, 20161 votes

I like the changes for the most part as well, I can't complain as of right now.
The 10th seeded teams as bad as they may be it's not always so much that they're just bad but sometimes just the level of competition. Look at the NBA the 15th seed in the Western Conference may be bad but when 10-1 teams all have 50+ wins it's just really hard to wins games same can be said here as well. An example would be in 2014 Summer Split every team were neck 2 neck with each other in the Standings.

Deku is boostedDec 15, 20161 votes

Now if only the way playoff seeding worked functioned just like Korea using a point system instead of prioritizing head to head.

Faux SupportDec 18, 20161 votes

EU has moved to LPL format. 10 teams(as usual), but 2 groups. Group A 5 teams and Group B 5 teams. They will double round robins within group and single round robin between groups. (Meaning you play the teams in your group twice and the teams in the other group once.) Also no dual streams for EU.

coeurloyalDec 28, 20161 votes

Great changes. However, I'm confused why they chose to limit the CS sister slots to three teams as a stop gap. It only makes sense as a patch fix until they can bridge into upcoming NACS changes, but how are they going to allow all of the major teams to upkeep an NACS team without expanding to 10 teams? How will it be fair to exclude TSM/CLG/EF from having sister teams long-term if it remains a six-team league? If they do expand to 10 teams, how do they allow the bottom teams acquire a CS spot and start developing while still allowing new teams to enter? Unless this is foreshadowing the transition to franchising next season (wherein having new teams enter NACS won't matter), I don't see how limiting the sister teams to those that already exist will lead to a healthy CS situation.

StressLevelsZeroDec 31, 20161 votes

Error: under "Inactive Roster": Reserve Roster: 2-5 players (substitutes who can be swapped ~~into~~ to the active roster)

SpitemasterJan 3, 20171 votes

That's not actually incorrect. Merriam-Webster gives the definition of "into" as: used as a function word to indicate entry, introduction, insertion, superposition, or inclusion

StressLevelsZeroJan 22, 20171 votes

it is because of the "to" afterwards

moytheboyJan 3, 20171 votes

When are tickets going on sale? Need to buy them.

NimmerJan 5, 20171 votes

This was all good but the following stood out to me, "every NA LCS team will be guaranteed a minimum of $50,000 of new digital product revenue per split" which is basically just an extra 50k for being a team in the LCS in case your team doesn't net much in sales. Good on you rito.

YòdaJan 9, 20171 votes

Can there be Season Tickets to the LCS? Please, I would totally buy them

Gobi SenpaiJan 13, 20171 votes

What about the new ten ban system??

I Love DoodsJan 13, 20171 votes

Fantasy???

TOS PureSugarJan 19, 20171 votes

What is the age cap for playing in the LCS? I've looked everywhere and can't find one, I know you have to be at least 17 but where does it end age wise? 23-25?