2020 LCS season
The 2020 LCS season was the third year under partnership and eighth overall of the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), a professional esports league for the MOBA PC game League of Legends. It was the first year that the league used a double elimination bracket for its playoff format. Championship points and the regional finals were also removed from the World Championship qualification process.[4][5][6][7]
| 2020 LCS season | |
|---|---|
| League | LCS |
| Sport | League of Legends |
| Duration | January 25 – April 19 (Spring) June 12 – September 6 (Summer) |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| TV partner(s) | English: ESPN2, Twitch, YouTube Chinese: Huya |
| Spring | |
| Champions | Cloud9 |
| Runners-up | FlyQuest |
| Top seed | Cloud9 |
| Season MVP | Robert "Blaber" Huang[1][2] (Cloud9) |
| Summer | |
| Champions | Team SoloMid |
| Runners-up | FlyQuest |
| Top seed | Team Liquid |
| Season MVP | Jo "CoreJJ" Yong-in[3] (Team Liquid) |
The spring split began on January 25 and was scheduled to conclude with the spring finals on April 19; however, due to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States, the season was temporarily suspended on March 13.[8] Four days later, it was announced that the LCS would resume on March 20, with all matches being played online.
The summer split began on June 12 and concluded with the summer finals on September 6.[5][6]
The three teams that qualified for the World Championship in 2020 were Team SoloMid, FlyQuest, and Team Liquid.[9]
League changes
Riot Games announced several changes to the LCS on January 8.[4][5][6][7]
Playoff format
The LCS changed its playoff format to a double elimination bracket,[4][6][7] similar to that which was adopted by the LEC in 2019.[10] The number of teams participating in the spring playoffs was unchanged, remaining at six, but the number of teams in the summer playoffs was increased from six to eight. Both splits' playoffs feature a winners' bracket and a losers' bracket, with the bottom two teams beginning in the losers' and the rest beginning in the winners'.[5][7]
Schedule
The LCS regular season schedule was revised for 2020. Four LCS games were broadcast each Saturday and Sunday instead of five, and the remaining two games were aired during "Monday Night League", which would feature the two most anticipated match ups of the week.[5][6][7] LCS commissioner Chris Greeley explained that this change was made to give less popular teams and players more exposure and opportunities to develop their brand, as many viewers, he argued, only tune in to watch their favorite teams.[7]
Following community feedback and "careful consideration", LCS officials announced that Monday Night League would be changed to Friday Night League for the summer split.[11]
International qualifications
The previous system of Championship points and the regional finals were completely removed from the World Championship qualification process.[5][6] As of 2020, the results of the spring split would only determine the LCS' representative for the Mid-Season Invitational, and did not have any part in determining a team's future qualification for the World Championship. The summer champions, runners-up and third place team would qualify for the World Championship as the LCS' first, second and third seeds, respectively.[7]
Broadcasting
The English broadcast was available on the LoL Esports website, as well as on Twitch[12] and YouTube.[13] On January 20, Riot Games announced their official partnership with Chinese streaming service Huya, giving them exclusive rights to the Chinese broadcast.[13][14][15] On April 8, it was announced that the spring playoffs would be aired on ESPN2 and the ESPN App.[16]
Spring
Teams and rosters
| Team | Roster | Coach | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top | Jungle | Mid | Bot | Support | ||
| 100 Thieves | Ssumday | Meteos | Ryoma | Cody Sun | Stunt | Zikz |
| Cloud9 | Licorice | Blaber | Nisqy | Zven | Vulcan | Reapered |
| Counter Logic Gaming | Ruin | Wiggily | Crown Pobelter |
Stixxay Wind |
Smoothie | SSONG |
| Dignitas | Huni | Akaadian Grig |
Froggen | Johnsun | Aphromoo | Thinkcard |
| Evil Geniuses | Kumo | Svenskeren | Jiizuke | Bang | Zeyzal | Irean |
| FlyQuest | Solo V1per |
Santorin | PowerOfEvil | WildTurtle | IgNar | Curry |
| Golden Guardians | Hauntzer | Closer | Goldenglue | FBI | Huhi Keith |
Inero |
| Immortals | sOAZ | Xmithie | Eika | Altec Apollo |
Hakuho | Zaboutine |
| Team Liquid | Impact | Broxah Shernfire |
Jensen | Doublelift Tactical |
CoreJJ | Cain |
| Team SoloMid | Broken Blade | Dardoch | Bjergsen | Kobbe | Biofrost | Peter Zhang |
Regular season
| Pos | Team | W | L | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cloud9 | 17 | 1 | 16 | Start in winners' bracket |
| 2 | Evil Geniuses | 10 | 8 | 2 | |
| 3 | 100 Thieves | 10 | 8 | 2 | |
| 4 | FlyQuest | 10 | 8 | 2 | |
| 5 | Team SoloMid | 9 | 9 | 0 | Start in losers' bracket |
| 6 | Golden Guardians | 8 | 10 | −2 | |
| 7 | Dignitas | 8 | 10 | −2 | |
| 8 | Immortals | 8 | 10 | −2 | |
| 9 | Team Liquid | 7 | 11 | −4 | |
| 10 | Counter Logic Gaming | 3 | 15 | −12 |
| Sixth place tiebreaker (Round 1) | Sixth place tiebreaker (Round 2) | ||||||||
| 1 | Golden Guardians | W | |||||||
| 2 | Dignitas | W | Dignitas | L | |||||
| 3 | Immortals | L | |||||||
| Second place tiebreaker (Round 1) | Second place tiebreaker (Round 2) | ||||||||
| 1 | Evil Geniuses | W | |||||||
| 2 | 100 Thieves | W | 100 Thieves | L | |||||
| 3 | FlyQuest | L | |||||||
Playoffs
| WB First Round (Game 1) | ||||
| 2. | Evil Geniuses | 3 | ||
| 4. | FlyQuest | 1 | ||
| WB First Round (Game 2) | ||||
| 1. | Cloud9 | 3 | ||
| 3. | 100 Thieves | 0 | ||
| LB First Round (Game 1) | ||||
| WB | FlyQuest | 3 | ||
| 6. | Golden Guardians | 0 | ||
| LB First Round (Game 2) | ||||
| WB | 100 Thieves | 2 | ||
| 5. | Team SoloMid | 3 | ||
| Second Round | Third Round | Finals | |||||||||||
| WB | Cloud9 | 3 | WB | Cloud9 | 3 | ||||||||
| WB | Evil Geniuses | 1 | LB | FlyQuest | 0 | ||||||||
| WB | Evil Geniuses | 1 | |||||||||||
| LB | FlyQuest | 3 | |||||||||||
| LB | Team SoloMid | 2 | |||||||||||
| LB | FlyQuest | 3 | |||||||||||
Awards
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MVP | Blaber | Cloud9 |
| Coaching Staff of the Split | Cloud9 Staff | Cloud9 |
| 1st Team All-Pro | Licorice | Cloud9 |
| Blaber | Cloud9 | |
| Nisqy | Cloud9 | |
| Zven | Cloud9 | |
| Vulcan | Cloud9 | |
| 2nd Team All-Pro | Ssumday | 100 Thieves |
| Closer | Golden Guardians | |
| Jiizuke | Evil Geniuses | |
| Bang | Evil Geniuses | |
| IgNar | FlyQuest | |
| 3rd Team All-Pro | Broken Blade | Team SoloMid |
| Santorin | FlyQuest | |
| PowerOfEvil | FlyQuest | |
| Cody Sun | 100 Thieves | |
| Biofrost | Team SoloMid |
Ranking
| Pos | Team | Prize (USD) | Prize share |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Cloud9 | $100,000 | 50% |
 |
FlyQuest | $50,000 | 25% |
 |
Evil Geniuses | $25,000 | 12.5% |
| 4th | Team SoloMid | $25,000 | 12.5% |
| 5th/6th | 100 Thieves | ||
| Golden Guardians |
Summer
Teams and rosters
| Team | Roster | Coach | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top | Jungle | Mid | Bot | Support | ||
| 100 Thieves | Ssumday | Contractz Meteos |
Ryoma | Cody Sun | Poome Stunt |
Zikz |
| Cloud9 | Licorice | Blaber | Nisqy | Zven | Vulcan | Reapered |
| Counter Logic Gaming | Deus Ruin |
Wiggily | Pobelter | Stixxay | Smoothie | SSONG |
| Dignitas | Lourlo V1per |
Akaadian Dardoch |
Fenix Froggen |
Johnsun | Aphromoo | Thinkcard |
| Evil Geniuses | Huni Kumo |
Svenskeren | Goldenglue Jiizuke |
Bang | Zeyzal | Irean |
| FlyQuest | Solo | Santorin | PowerOfEvil | MasH WildTurtle |
IgNar | Curry |
| Golden Guardians | Hauntzer | Closer | Damonte | FBI | huhi | Inero |
| Immortals | Allorim sOAZ |
Potluck Xmithie |
Eika Insanity |
Altec Apollo |
Gate Hakuho |
Zaboutine |
| Team Liquid | Impact | Broxah | Jensen | Tactical | CoreJJ | Jatt |
| Team SoloMid | Broken Blade | Spica | Bjergsen | Doublelift | Biofrost Treatz |
Peter Zhang |
Regular season
| Pos | Team | W | L | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Liquid | 15 | 3 | 12 | Start in winners' bracket second round |
| 2 | Cloud9 | 13 | 5 | 8 | |
| 3 | FlyQuest | 12 | 6 | 6 | Start in winners' bracket |
| 4 | Team SoloMid | 12 | 6 | 6 | |
| 5 | Golden Guardians | 9 | 9 | 0 | |
| 6 | Evil Geniuses | 8 | 10 | −2 | |
| 7 | 100 Thieves | 7 | 11 | −4 | Start in losers' bracket |
| 8 | Dignitas | 5 | 13 | −8 | |
| 9 | Counter Logic Gaming | 5 | 13 | −8 | |
| 10 | Immortals | 4 | 14 | −10 |
| Eighth place tiebreaker | |||
| Counter Logic Gaming | L | ||
| Dignitas | W | ||
Winners' bracket
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Semifinals (WB) | |||||||||
| Team Liquid | 3 | ||||||||||
| Team SoloMid | 0 | Golden Guardians | 0 | ||||||||
| Golden Guardians | 3 | Team Liquid | 2 | ||||||||
| FlyQuest | 3 | ||||||||||
| Cloud9 | 1 | ||||||||||
| FlyQuest | 3 | FlyQuest | 3 | ||||||||
| Evil Geniuses | 2 | ||||||||||
Losers' bracket
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | ||||||||||||
| LB | Team SoloMid | 3 | ||||||||||||
| LB | Dignitas | 0 | WB | Golden Guardians | 2 | |||||||||
| WB | Team SoloMid | 3 | LB | Team SoloMid | 3 | |||||||||
| LB | Cloud9 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| LB | Evil Geniuses | 0 | ||||||||||||
| LB | 100 Thieves | 0 | WB | Cloud9 | 3 | |||||||||
| WB | Evil Geniuses | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Semifinals (LB) | ||||
| WB | Team Liquid | 2 | ||
| LB | Team SoloMid | 3 | ||
Finals
| Finals | ||||
| WB | FlyQuest | 2 | ||
| LB | Team SoloMid | 3 | ||
Awards
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MVP | CoreJJ | Team Liquid |
| Rookie of the Year | Tactical | Team Liquid |
| Coaching Staff of the Split | Team Liquid Staff | Team Liquid |
| 1st Team All-Pro | Licorice | Cloud9 |
| Blaber | Cloud9 | |
| Bjergsen | Team SoloMid | |
| Zven | Cloud9 | |
| CoreJJ | Team Liquid | |
| 2nd Team All-Pro | Ssumday | 100 Thieves |
| Santorin | FlyQuest | |
| Jensen | Team Liquid | |
| Tactical | Team Liquid | |
| Vulcan | Cloud9 | |
| 3rd Team All-Pro | Impact | Team Liquid |
| Closer | Golden Guardians | |
| Nisqy | Cloud9 | |
| PowerOfEvil | FlyQuest | |
| FBI | Golden Guardians | |
| IgNar | FlyQuest |
Ranking
| Pos | Team | Prize (USD) | Prize share | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Team SoloMid | $100,000 | 50% | 2020 World Championship main event (first seed) |
|
FlyQuest | $50,000 | 25% | 2020 World Championship main event (second seed) |
|
Team Liquid | $30,000 | 15% | 2020 World Championship play-in stage (third seed) |
| 4th | Cloud9 | $20,000 | 10% | |
| 5th/6th | Evil Geniuses | |||
| Golden Guardians | ||||
| 7th/8th | 100 Thieves | |||
| Dignitas |
References
- Stavropoulos, Andreas (April 17, 2020). "C9 Blaber wins 2020 LCS Spring MVP award". Dot Esports. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- Ousley, Parkes (April 17, 2020). "League of Legends: Cloud9 Blaber is your 2020 LCS Spring Split Honda MVP". InvenGlobal. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- Ocal, Arda (September 4, 2020). "Team Liquid's CoreJJ wins LCS MVP". ESPN. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
- Esguerra, Tyler (January 8, 2020). "Riot changes LCS playoff format for 2020, will also remove NA regional qualifiers". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- Rutledge, Caroline (January 8, 2020). "Riot Games Announces Major LCS Format Changes Ahead of 2020 Season". TheGamer. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- Stewart, Jack (January 8, 2020). "LCS introduces double elimination Playoffs and stronger Academy investment for 2020". GGIntel. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- Kolev, Radoslav (January 9, 2020). "LCS restructures Worlds qualification method, finally introduces double elimination bracket". VPEsports. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- Esguerra, Tyler (March 13, 2020). "Riot suspends LCS season, moves 2020 Spring Finals to Los Angeles". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- Newell, Adam (September 7, 2020). "All of the teams qualified for the 2020 League of Legends World Championship". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
- Esguerra, Lawrence Tyler (January 15, 2019). "LEC introduces a new season format for 2019". Daily Esports. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- Culver, Jeremy (May 20, 2020). "LCS drops Monday games in favor of Friday Night League". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- Brathwaite, Brandon (September 14, 2018). "Riot Games Pilots Twitch Co-Streaming for NA LCS". The Esports Observer. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
- Matthiesen, Tom (January 20, 2020). "League of Legends: Riot partners with Huya as exclusive platform to broadcast the LCS and LEC in China". Inven Global. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
- Esguerra, Tyler (January 20, 2020). "Huya becomes newest exclusive LCS and LEC broadcaster in China". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
- Murray, Trent (January 20, 2020). "Huya Secures Chinese Broadcast Rights for LCS, LEC". The Esports Observer. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
- Ocal, Arda (April 8, 2020). "LCS spring split playoff games to air on ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
