Riot Games announced that the 2020 Season of the LCS and Academy will be expanding their weekly match schedules, with LCS starting on January 25 and Academy on January 24. The league will debut a new Playoffs format for the Spring and Summer splits.

The expansion of the LCS will see games 3 times a week on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, taking place at the LCS Studios in Santa Monica, CA. On Saturdays and Sundays, there will be 4 LCS games followed by an Academy game, with the addition of “Monday Night League”, with two marquee LCS matchups of the week, starting at 5:30 PM PT.

The Academy games will be held on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, with the introduction of “Academy Rush”, a new show that will air on Fridays at 5PM PT, featuring shoutcasters and analysts highlighting 4 Academy games played simultaneously with a full 5th final game.

Academy Rush will give fans the opportunity to keep up with the 10 Academy games played each week through one single channel. Academy players will be given a lot of stage time, allowing them to build their brands and gain stage experience, moving closer to a starting spot in the LCS.

In addition to the new dates, the LCS Playoffs format has been updated for the Spring and Summer Split, taking place over 4 weeks, with the specific format changing between the Spring and Summer split. This will affect and change the way teams qualify for the League of Legends Worlds Championship. The 3 LCS teams will qualify through the new LCS Summer Playoffs instead of the Regional Qualifier and Championship points. You can find the specifications here.

The winner of the 2020 LCS Spring Finals advances to the 2020 Mid-Season Invitational, and the top three teams in the 2020 LCS Summer Playoffs will move forward to the 2020 League of Legends Worlds Championship. 

The Academy regular season will remain a reflection of the LCS, with a 2-split format and a 9-week regular season with best of 1s. The Spring Playoffs will feature the top six teams from the regular season, with a transition from best of 1 to best of 5 format. 

If you are looking to watch the LCS games live at the studios, the 2020 Spring Split tickets will be available for Saturday and Sunday only, with the Monday games being held with a live audience, however, not being available for purchase. Ticket sales start Thursday, January 9th at noon, and you can get yours here.