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NA LCS: Format update for 2018

Riot·9/29/2017, 8:01:31 PM·2 votes·98,867 views

TL;DR: NA LCS is switching back to a double Bo1 regular season starting in 2018.

Every split, we evaluate if the NA LCS format and schedule are creating competitive and entertaining matches. After three splits of Best of 3s (Bo3) in the regular season, we’ve weighed a lot of info including months of surveying fans, conducting focus groups, auditing viewership for both streams, and reviewing feedback from fans, teams, and pros. As a result, we’ve decided to move the NA LCS back to a double Bo1 regular season starting with the 2018 Season.

What’s the goal of the regular season? How do we evaluate a format?

We’ve always used the guiding principles that the NA LCS format should create highly competitive and extremely entertaining matches. We want the NA LCS regular season format to:

  • Be accessible for fans to watch weekly
  • Support balanced exposure for all teams, pros, and their sponsors
  • Send the best and most competitive teams to Playoffs

When we looked at the existing Bo3 format, we looked at the following areas:

  • Fan Behavior: We actively analyze how players watch the NA LCS, including how they’re watching Bo3s - are they queuing up to watch one team’s matches or just jumping into the broadcast when they have time regardless of the match? Is there an oversaturation of esports content that's making fans choose between watching the LCS and playing League of Legends? That allows us to identify any emerging trends that could impact the health of the League.
  • Viewership: The more fans are watching, and the longer they are tuning in, the stronger and healthier the league is. These numbers matter at all levels of the league, from the overall value and future of the league down to the pros themselves. They affect the value of ads on streams, the value of team sponsorship deals, and the revenue share available to teams/pros for next year. It’s not the only measure but it’s the best objective way to measure if the league is successful.
  • Community Feedback:  We actively measure community feedback around the NA LCS through multiple methods including surveys, focus groups, and online sentiment. Our goal is that fans, pros, and teams trust that we’re delivering a fair, competitive format that sends the best teams to Playoffs.  

Why did we switch to Bo3? What was the impact?

When we made the switch back to Bo3 back in 2016, we based our decision on a couple of factors. Primarily, we believed that the new format would make the NA LCS a better experience for fans based on three assumptions. An assumption was that a more competitive series-based format would better prepare teams for international events like MSI and Worlds. Equally, we believed that Bo3 series would give fans of specific teams more games to watch - that they would tune in specifically to watch a Bo3 of their favorite team. The last assumption is that the Bo3 format would be a more enjoyable viewing experience than Bo1s because you could see storylines unfolding over the course of a series. When we sought out feedback from pros, teams, and the community, we heard some of the same assumptions and supported the change to Bo3.

Although we had initial positive feedback, when looking at our data week over week and surveying NA LCS fans, we saw some of our assumptions proved wrong. Importantly, Bo3s have made it harder and less enjoyable to watch, and many fans don’t tune in to watch an entire series.

  • More than half of fans start watching a Bo3 regardless of what game in the series teams were currently playing - they are not getting the payoff of watching a series unfold.
  • Almost half of fans are having trouble finding time to watch an entire Bo3 matchup, making the NA LCS less approachable for the average fan - many just prefer to play League of Legends instead of watch a Bo3.
  • Fans cite Bo3s and too many games as a factor when they stop watching as much as they used to.

Across all of these mediums, the message that we've received from fans is that they'd welcome a change back to Best of 1. We believe this format change is the way to make the NA LCS more intuitive for new fans, makes following and watching easier for everyone, and is the right decision for the health of the League.

We talked these trends through with pros via the NA LCS Players' Association and discussed the pros and cons of more games/competition vs. optimizing for more fans to tune in. When walking through various options, the majority of pros agreed that the benefits of Bo3 did not outweigh the tradeoffs. They also agreed that while a lot of regular season games could be effective, it has diminishing returns. In order to address the concern that Bo1s do not allow enough games for teams to develop proper synergy or preparation for international play, we're working with the Players Association and teams to make practice and scrims more efficient. We feel there's a lot of gains to be made in both practice efficiency and tools. We’re working closely with all potential owners to make sure there's a commitment to the same goals above to ensure a smooth transition to Bo1.

Why go back to Bo1? Why not try something else?

Feedback showed us that fans preferred watching more content across multiple teams than tuning in selectively for matches specifically of one team. After reviewing numerous options, we’re moving back to Bo1 because it’s:

  • A more digestible format for fans to watch than Bo3s
  • One of the few formats that allows us to get rid of dual streams – fans, teams, and pros gave feedback that they prefer a single stream for games unless it’s specialized content (such as a lane focused cast)
  • A structure that gives fans more time to go explore/dive in to team content
  • A format that doesn't have high stress points. Formats that include high variability in start times (Bo3s), Super Weeks, or a tournament structure allow fans to tune out and come back during Playoffs or Finals
  • Easier for fans to follow from beginning to end and can provide less repetitive gameplay with a potential for more champion diversity - even if the tradeoff is occasionally ‘safe’ picks from stronger teams and/or cheese picks from weaker teams.
  • More straightforward to predict start times for fans who want to see their team play. We could’ve moved to scheduling Bo3s at set times but we didn’t want fans to wait unnecessarily for the next series.

With the move to Bo1s, another change we’ll be implementing is that teams get side selection once instead of each team being assigned red and blue automatically. We’re making this change so that teams can opt into what side they play on to provide a level of fairness and balance as the meta potentially shifts between patches.

Could Bo3s ever come back?

We’ll continue to review if our format and schedule are creating entertaining and competitive matches. If we see a shift in how fans watch the NA LCS or a better format to create compelling competition, we’d be open to looking at it as an option again as we would with any type of format change.

Does this mean NA LCS is moving away from 3-day broadcast? Will it go back to weekends at noon PT?

Yes, we’ll be going back to a single stream for weekend games. We may bring back special alt streams such as position focused casts, but we won’t have dual streams every week. We’ll confirm the start times and any additional changes coming to the NA LCS in the offseason.

When will the NA LCS start with the new format?

We’ll be introducing this format change to the NA LCS at the start of the 2018 Spring Split on January 20. This was not a change we’ve made lightly, but after three splits, we think this is the right move to ensure the longevity and sustainability of our sport in North America for years to come. We believe this format change will provide a valuable, entertaining regular season for our pros, fans, and teams.

Bear Schmiedicker, yes, Bear is his real name, is one of the NA LCS Leads. 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.

 

529 Comments

LinoWidge9/29/2017, 8:19:42 PM265 votes

I am very dissapointed in this decision. Its like you care more about viewership numbers than a good competitive environment for the players...

Brose hunter9/29/2017, 8:15:35 PM173 votes

Welp time for na to become a laughing stock again just as it looked like we might actually be getting better.

GayDCarry9/29/2017, 8:21:38 PM144 votes

I hate this. So much.

MajCommodoreKled9/29/2017, 8:28:40 PM138 votes

Huge disappointment. Not sure which fans they surveyed if anyone at all.

Luxury Llama9/29/2017, 8:22:23 PM134 votes

So you're going to take $10,000,000 from each team owner and then screw the teams so that they are far less competitive at international events? How is this good for the sport? How do the team owners feel about this?

Lovablepanda9/29/2017, 8:42:01 PM125 votes

I am incredibly disappointed in this move by Riot. The reason I got invested into NALCS was because of the BO3's increasing our competitiveness and now you're great idea is take that away? Sure for the casual viewer this is better but you are spitting in the face of all the hardcore fans who want to see their region be competitive worldwide.

MessiahNyx9/29/2017, 8:28:39 PM102 votes

best of three is much better. we can actually determine if a team is actually strong. in best of one a lucky play can give you the win. you think people are going to invest big money in teams if a best of one decides if their good or not.

warpenguin5559/29/2017, 8:33:03 PM97 votes

WTF Riot. I loved BO3.

Valmyr9/29/2017, 8:47:26 PM83 votes

This has everything to do with "viewership for all team" and nothing to do with the desire to be more competitive as a region. Whats the point of competing as a region in international competitions if we will actively and knowingly handy cap ourselves so the they can get max viewership on all sponsors. If you want to generate as much money as posable that is fine and a solid business decision, but if you would like to be treated as a real sport, decisions should be made to foster and support the best posable players and teams, This does not.

Breaku9/29/2017, 8:43:24 PM78 votes

Oh good, now I don't need to watch anymore :)

Federer3439/29/2017, 8:36:29 PM69 votes

I will never understand why Riot insists on shooting themselves in the foot over and over. From 18 games a season to 50 games a season right back to 18 games a season. Hope the teams enjoy playing more games in playoffs than in the entirety of the regular season, because that was some good shit in the past. Pathetic shit Riot.

Jaunty4119/29/2017, 9:20:24 PM66 votes

"We are concerned that the new teams we are taking $10,000,000 from will not get a large enough fan base. To combat this, we are making there less LCS games to watch, forcing fans to watch the new teams if they want a similar amount of content."

                                  --Riot Games 2017
Vondrova9/29/2017, 8:33:51 PM52 votes

This makes me very sad, I understand that BO1's make it so casual viewers can watch easier, however this is just going to widen the gap even farther. I wish Riot cared more about having a competitive environment for the competitive scene but I guess we're fine going back to the days of "NA Flash" if it means more casuals who don't give a shit watching the stream, right?

Cemlub9/29/2017, 9:46:56 PM49 votes

Based on that article, it sounds VP of advertising/revenue decided what would be best for league. Very disappointed that you've decided to sell NA LCS competitiveness for advertising dollars.

docjohnsonn9/29/2017, 9:31:26 PM48 votes

RIOT no, Stop put it down, put the stupid stick down. Stop hitting yourself, please. Well there goes Riot trying to mess up a good thing again. RIP to the competition, I have read 30+ comments on here, and 29/30 said this was a bad idea. WHERE ARE YOU GETTING YOUR DATA FROM. OHH, you think if you switch back to BO1 you will have season 2-4 number, and that is just NOT the case. You are making a grave error in judgment, but you will learn your lesson once again............

v CaBooSe v9/29/2017, 8:57:01 PM48 votes

this is a dumb idea, what will bring viewers in is strong NA teams, you will get strong NA teams with BO3 format. why do you think everyone around the world watches korea pro play, because they have good teams!!!!!

Kakarrot199/29/2017, 9:06:46 PM48 votes

Not a fan... Was so glad for the Best of 3 switch and now we're back. On a side note TSM has won all 3 of splits with Best of 3's. I guess they'll need to stop sandbagging the first game now.

RSL Leviathan9/29/2017, 9:16:27 PM43 votes

this is fucking stupid and they wonder why we never win msi or worlds

Amocoru9/29/2017, 10:58:03 PM43 votes

I never post on this forum, but I have to. This is a TERRIBLE decision. I've asked everyone I know that watches NA LCS regularly and they all feel exactly the same way. BO3 are more competitive and when games are more competitive they draw in higher viewership. People don't want to watch the other games because the teams are absolutely terrible and we're not really learning anything or engaged by their level of play. Of course everyone tunes in for TSM, C9, and CLG. Don't even kid yourself and pretend this is what's best for the fans. This is what's best for you and nothing else. Edit: I'm still not going to be any more interested in teams like Echo Fox until they step up and prove they can be competitive. This is going to be moving them backwards, not forward.

Dunkydingus9/29/2017, 11:27:58 PM40 votes

"we’ve weighed a lot of info including months of surveying fans, conducting focus groups, auditing viewership for both streams, and reviewing feedback from fans, teams, and pros." Weird, I never got asked or surveyed on what I thought about this.... I'm guessing every single person in this comments thread shooting down Riot's bullshit can say the same. The moves already being made for next season with Franchising and potentially the strongest lineup that the NA LCS has ever had, along with a World championship that could highlight some of our teams this year as a global powerhouse, this would have been enough to bring the viewership up for 2018. Moving MORE formats to LCK style like MVP points would be another way of doing this.

Riot games proves to us all time and again that above all else they care only about revenue. They will never reach the pinnacle of what it means to be a great video game company because their values are absolute dog shit. Maybe email the guys over at Blizzard and ask them how to treat their community and run a long-term business. If you all want to make something for riot you need to stop cash cowing your ONLY game because it's going to reach a point where you've made so many negative decisions for the community just to try to maximize profit that you're going to lose it all. You take years upon years to catch up with what your community asks for, It's absolutely embarrassing for every single Riot employee that the barrier to entry for this game took until 2018 to be (sort of) resolved with the IP changes and Runes/masteries not costing years of gameplay to unlock. The leveling process and cost of champions (in relation to the number of champions available) is still absolutely outrageous.

This decision, again with the decisions in the past prove to us again that you will lie to the face of the world in saying that you are actually keeping your communities best interest in mind. It's going to be hard to revert these changes in summer 2018 if you drop 50% viewership and "apologize" (again) for a really bad decision. I, and assumingly the mass majority of North American viewers hope beyond all else that you re-evaluate this before you drop the ball in such a massive way.

Best of ones is uncompetitive and a horseshit excuse for everything someone wasted their time typing about in this article. Honestly confused as to what you even pay your employees for if this is the kind of shit you're all coming up with.

I stopped watching NA and EU and only tuned in to LCK games starting around spring of season 4 because I knew with how absolutely trash the western organizations were they would never compete globally and LCK games were so much more explosive, innovative, and exciting because they had the luxury of BO3. I began watching NA again when BO3 was Incorporated because I finally saw a step in the right direction, now we come into worlds the 2nd strongest region in the world by far (in my opinion) with 3 teams that have very good chances to leave group stages (in my opinion) and i believe it's largely in part to the format of the past 1 1/2 years. If you take away BO3 you're going to lose my viewership again 100%. And clearly there's a mass majority of people that agree with me. (I honestly have no issue only watching LCK but I'll be sad to not follow my team, Cloud 9 again.

Tldr; Fuck this company.

Kalzix9/29/2017, 9:15:55 PM40 votes

I am pretty disappointed by this change. We don't have access to the actual numbers you are using to make your decisions, but this definitely sounds more like a cash grab than it does improving regional performance or health of the League. While most likely not even related to Franchising, I can't help but feel like there is a connection to dumbing things down after making basically permanent slots for teams.

FS Raquoz9/29/2017, 9:42:49 PM39 votes

no need to watch NA anymore, RIP 2018 worlds for na.... no real practice now

PyroAeroVampire9/29/2017, 9:56:10 PM33 votes

I personally think Bo3's are far better if there are only going to be 2 Round Robins (18 Total Series), but if you're going back to Bo1's you really should increase the number of teams/number of Round Robins. I personally think 10 teams is good, but I think the League could plausibly expand to 12 teams for franchising. In comparison to Standard US Sports, most teams have to play quite a few games (Baseball and Basketball teams in the US play 162 and 82 respectively) with an exception going to American Football, who only play 16 games in the regular season. I think, for League, expanding to 12 teams and going to a Triple Round Robin format (Each team plays every other team 3 times, for a total of 33 games) would be a good place to set it.

Alternately, I had an idea for structure that requires Bo1: 12 teams. Before the start of a split, the 12 teams will be split randomly split into 4 different groups, three teams per group. (To not stack one group, the top 4 teams from the previous split cannot be in the same group as one another. If it were to apply to Spring 2018, TSM, Immortals, CLG, and Dignitas could not be in the same group.)

a team will play 4 Bo1 games against each of the teams within their group and 3 Bo1 games against each of the teams outside of their group.

At the end of the split, The top 2 teams from each group move on to the playoffs. Each Seed 1 team from the Regular Split will play against a randomly selected Seed 2 team from a different group in a Bo5. From there, the winning teams are randomly chosen against each other for Semis, and the Playoffs continues as it always has.

This format allows for enough games to be played (37 for every team) that each team can get 3 games per week for 11 weeks, then a single 4 game week. This format, since it's Bo1, requires only one stream, but still allows for a three day broadcast (6 games each day, 18 total games per week) Maybe I'm overthinking it or underthinking it (Depends on who you ask) but if we MUST have Bo1's, this is the format I'd like to see.

Or, you know, even better idea, keep Bo3 as it holds the best integrity for a competitive season and adequately allows new players to find comfort in playing on-stage as well as for all players in getting used to a meta that is ever-changing.

TheEndlessRiver9/29/2017, 9:12:21 PM32 votes

What garbage. Bo1 in no way determines the better team. If you want to improve viewership whatever but don't hide behind the argument that it "sends the best and most competitive teams to playoffs." It was nice that NA finally got a little closer to regions like LCK but I guess you care more about viewers than actually making anything competitive.

SquirrellyJoe9/29/2017, 9:42:16 PM31 votes

I wonder where they collected this "feedback" they're citing. Anything that gives NA a chance to be internationally relevant is effectively gone with this change. I'm certainly not in favor of it.

Seekor9/29/2017, 9:49:57 PM29 votes

WOW! This sucks! BO1 is a totally garbage format. Any team can get lucky and beat any team once. But it takes true SKILL to win a BO3. Its a shame Riot is so money hungry they sacrifice the sanctity of the greatest E-Sport of all time to retain more $. Honestly this is probably enough to drive plenty of fans away in droves simply because you are dumbing down the format to accommodate people that probably arent going to even be watching anymore. People that are truly fans love the BO3 format and if we cant watch live we have vods. BAD MOVE RIOT

Twaydog9/29/2017, 9:55:08 PM27 votes

Please do not do this.

Dafnatar9/30/2017, 6:45:29 AM27 votes

#boycott spring split 2018

Krainer9/29/2017, 10:41:40 PM26 votes

Garbage decision. I don't even play anymore, competitive has kept me around....this does not help.

Zulu Rammus9/29/2017, 10:18:30 PM24 votes

Making decisions more retarded than my ranked teammates. [zombie-brand-facepalm]

SmashBr0sBr4wl9/29/2017, 9:00:52 PM20 votes

Please, please, please infinity NO. This a downgrade in all accounts for viewer experience. Fact is people will choose not to watch lower ranked teams no matter what format you choose to use. All you accomplished here is the denial of teams to practice in a competitive environment and denied fans the ability to see it. Seriously how is anyone who enjoyed Bo3 supposed to ever enjoy the LCS now? It's a tiny fraction of what it was. May as well have canceled the split.

WHO WANT A HAM9/29/2017, 10:30:17 PM19 votes

What a disappointing decision. NA is continuing to grow its competitiveness internationally, there were so many interesting series, and games were on enough I could tune in really whenever I wanted to see some games and if not, well, that's why God invented VODs.

I get Riot's desire to increase viewership, and franchised teams desire to normalize the league, but this will do tremendous damage to NA's presence internationally. I can't even understand the viewership angle really; the rest of my friends are your "casual viewers" and they're having a hard time justifying watching even just their favorite team when a cheese strat, bad comp, or misplay can decide an entire day. I don't have Riot's data and I guess there's an army of super-casual viewers out there who just don't care; I'd love to see their opinion, or at least Riot's data on this.

Late For Tea9/29/2017, 9:46:22 PM19 votes

Just skimmed through the article and all I saw was "for the fans".

Yes this may be better for the fans (or not), but it definitely is not better for the overall level of play from the players. If you want to improve as a team a BO1 format is not the way to do it, because you don't have opportunities to adapt. Something your analysts love to mention every time a BO1 format is being played.

Abe079/29/2017, 10:29:15 PM18 votes

Don't you hate it when a single article ruins your entire day? It's like your walking in the street being jolly and suddenly you get slapped. I hope this comment section gives you glimpse of the feedback you will be getting once this change takes place.

Kalance9/29/2017, 8:40:49 PM18 votes

I can see why looking at the data and wanting more viewership back could prompt a switch back to bo1 while at the same time I think the bo3 format shows how strong teams actually are and in my opinion we are seeing the benefits of the bo3 formats with NA performing stronger at international events. However, bo3 format suits players that have been playing and watching and does not support new players joining and viewership. So basically what I'm trying to say is i guess it make sense from a business stand point, but I don't like it at all lol. I'm also not sure which pros would want that? seems like they've openly said many times they liked the bo3's? Maybe I'm wrong lol...

hide on meta9/30/2017, 2:44:15 AM17 votes

For a company that trots transparency around in making decisions and business practices, you really need to provide qualified analysis of your findings here.

This is by far the worst possible decision that could come to the NA LCS period. If you think viewership problems are the issue, why don't you copy LCK's format/scheduling? They have a Bo3 and they manage to get all their games in because people are willing to watch the games over 6 hour streams 4-5 days a week rather than you cramming all the content into two days on two streams.

Common sense here says why don't you ask your viewers if they'd be interested in more days of LCS rather than shrinking down games and going back to Bo1. Rather than try to get everything in on Sat/Sun why don't you do Thursday-Sunday and do Thursday games as literal Prime-Time games. You have an Emmy Award Winning Executive Producer there who I'm absolutely positive can coordinate and run a prime-time show, for those who don't want (or don't have) traditional TV services, this is a great option. Start at say 7PM EST which would be 4PM CST and play for 6 hours a day, assuming you have 6 one hour games in 2 Bo3 Series. That means at the latest you'd end broadcast at 10PM CST/1AM EDT. I personally am already up that late already and wouldn't mind sticking around to finish LCS, especially seeing as that if it's gone that late already there's probably been some excellent competition earlier in the day and I'm already hyped.

I want to know who got polled for these changes? Did you just do ballot-box style polling in the LCS studios and not bother to ask any online fans? I know I've never seen on any survey anything related to e-sports content, and there hasn't been anything on Twitch, the Broadcasts, or even in-client. This seems like a move to increase marketability but even then, I don't understand how less games makes streaming rights and advertising dollars more profitable, and my background is in Television Production and I have been a Television Producer and currently work in the entertainment industry.

I'm not even going to comment on the competitive integrity issues this brings up, and how this literally is a slap in the face to every single person who just paid the franchising fee to have you turn around and change this on them, because I highly doubt that even with NDA's in place, you informed potential franchisee owners of this SUBSTANTIAL change in format that could very well cause some future franchisee prospects to become disinterested. NA has actually put up a good showing this year so far at Worlds, and even in the NA LCS. There's a definite bridging of the gap, but I doubt we're gonna see that success continued to be grown upon because when teams aren't playing, they'll be grinding solo queue and streaming. No team is gonna bootcamp 24/7 or scrim 24/7, and there's likely to be less of that with this new Bo1 format. Other folks have commented on these points well better than I have and I'm not going to beat that dead horse (unless it's Hecarim in which case screw that dude).

The only "positive" that may come from this is that you'll see more fiesta games as teams pull out cheese comps just to win a Bo1 game, but the entertainment value of that is like a WWE wrestler getting a cheap pop from the audience for stating the name of the town they are in that weekend. It's not sustainable, and it certainly will wear off, and when viewership numbers tank even more as a subsequent result, you'll have to consider even more drastic changes or revert to Bo3 without admitting you fucked up.

I don't see a single person in this rapidly growing comment section that is expressing approval over these changes. I doubt they are similarly being expressed in a positive manner elsewhere on social media like Reddit, Facebook, and Twitter as well. If you read all this, thanks for your time, and I can only hope my comments are read by those with decision making power and that this change is reverted.

HOU5E9/29/2017, 10:09:41 PM17 votes

"Bo3s provide a lot of competitive benefits, including rigorous competition between teams due to the sheer number of games." - 2015

Source (you): http://www.lolesports.com/en_US/articles/looking-ahead-na-and-eu-lcs-format-changes-summer-split-2016

"An assumption was that a more competitive series-based format would better prepare teams for international events like MSI and Worlds." -2017

You can't have it both ways riot. It wasn't an assumption that proved to be wrong, more games will always heighten the competition and prepare our NA teams for Worlds better than Bo1s. This is fact. You aren't doing this for the fan's you are reverting back to Bo1s because the "Bo1 format has some very clear strengths from an entertainment standpoint."

Why can't you be honest with us and just say that Bo1s make you more money? Why cloak this announcement as for the fans when really it's for your wallets? I guess being disingenuous helps your bottom line too. Supremely disappointed in your organization. This is be far the worst decision your organization has ever made and it is transparently selfish of you. Expect viewership numbers to drop. I know I won't care to tune in as much as before.

Thareapz9/29/2017, 8:22:20 PM17 votes

[zombie-brand-mindblown]

Womp1239/29/2017, 10:12:44 PM15 votes

Hmm, the article's main point revolves around "what the fans want" yet out of 55 comments 54 of them hate this...usually I support Rito decisions, but they seem to be making some rough choices lately: dynamic queue, giving icons as "repayment" for rp, and now this crap? I am hopeful for NA to make it to semis this year, and the Bo3 format was a good part of the reason. Now we go back to stupid Bo1s that don't even show who the best team of the region is......Riot....you don't always have to make these crazy changes, sometimes taking it slow is good....this is kind of what separates LoL from say NFL....League changes sometimes too quickly, while the NFL takes a few years to think things through before changing the rules....a lesson the e-sport industry and League in particular will have to learn I guess.

biggiecurls9/29/2017, 8:58:44 PM15 votes

Good to know you care More about jacking up viewership numbers to sell sponsorships than having a competitive environment. SO STUPID

Get Out Me Swamp9/29/2017, 10:22:59 PM15 votes

Riot $ asking $ us $ to $ trust $ them $ again. Where are the fan surveys? Never heard of a league fan disliking Bo3 over Bo1. At least LCK is still incredible, they have always had the best regular season and playoffs format.

Frastmaz9/29/2017, 8:32:19 PM15 votes

Don't like the change. Love the dogs and their names. What's your Element?

Scruffy SCARAB9/29/2017, 9:41:44 PM14 votes

I also believe this change will handicap NA vis-a-vis international competition. The transparency of this process is also suspect; and while it is your league to make a success or failure of, my gut tells me that any financial payoff will be short-lived. As a fan, I do not look forward to the change.

Amaroq9/29/2017, 10:15:57 PM14 votes

Very disappointing. I've thoroughly loved the Best of 3 format. The adapting of strategy over the course of a series made each game so much more compelling. Yes, it is true that watching the games live was much harder but lets be honest even with Best of 1s a good portion of the weekend is dedicated to watching the LCS games. I think Riot should respect that watching the game's on their YouTube Channel is a perfectly realistic medium for fans. I thought the change to Best of 3 was one of the best movies Riot had done with the NA LCS, sadly this will be a huge detriment to my ability to get hyped for the new season...

BetterthanJon9/29/2017, 10:12:07 PM13 votes

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tidecalling9/29/2017, 10:35:17 PM12 votes

Absolutely awful decision, Riot.

DoctorAnonymous9/30/2017, 5:22:45 AM12 votes

What a stupid decision.

The NALCS is coming off of what most analysts seem to think was their best, most competitive split despite TSM winning again. This split had a number of great storylines (TSM, DIGs player swaps, NV going from first to playoffs, return of IMT, etc.) Moving into franchising (which I was originally against, but feel better about now), the league looks like next year will be great, right. And then you unveil this.

I do not understand what surveys you could have been looking at. Who in their right mind would prefer a bo1? Surely even casual watchers who just watch when TSM plays C9 would prefer to see two back and forth series where the teams adapt to one another than watch them just play two games? Who wants there to be less games played? Bo1s are so flukey, so odd that it makes so little sense to me that you would return to this as a serious competitive format. Yeah, they're used in international tournaments, but teams in international tournaments are already good, and it feels flukey there anyway. What player would prefer to play less?

I 100% believe, no exaggeration, that the NALCS is shooting themselves in the foot with this in so many ways. Hardcore viewers such as myself who tune in for every game will now have less to watch and less of a reason to be dedicated to watching. The regular season standings will now be dubious. Losing a single fluke game will now have an outsized importance in the standings. No good team will want to use tactical subs, since if you play a sub and lose you don't get a chance to come back. And the entire storyline of the season will be fractured. Isntead of getting to see if TSM can fire back against C9 (or whoever) they'll just take the game and leave. And lets not even get started on the possible consequences for NAs viability as a competitive region. Remember guys, all of the developing regions except for the CIS now at least play best of 2s, and some of them play bo3s. If you thought we were bad before, just wait.

I don't want to be that guy, but in all honesty this makes me want to just watch EU or LCK this coming season instead of the NALCs, since I watch everything on vod anyway. What a stupid decision.

Shawkeekee9/29/2017, 9:49:31 PM11 votes

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