UPDATE 8/7: On the first day of the 2021 League Championship Series Championship, Riot Games announced that the entirety of the LCS post-season would be taking place at the LCS studio in Santa Monica, CA instead of the original plan of hosting the last two matches at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ to properly welcome fans back to LCS competition in person.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 cases have begun rising again, specifically in North America via the new Delta variant, and as a precaution, Riot Games has chosen to have the entire post-season played at the LCS studio.

The last two days of week 8 and the entirety of week 9 of the LCS Summer Split were played remotely as a COVID-19 precaution, and while teams will be welcomed back into the studio for playoffs, no audience will be present as was the case throughout the Summer Split.

Original story:

The 2021 League of Legends  Championship Series Championship delivered by Grubhub (formerly Summer Finals) will be held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on August 28 and 29. For the first time in two years, fans and press will be welcomed back into the venue — in addition to the weekend’s Fan Fest activities outside the arena.

Debuting this year, the LCS Championship delivered by Grubhub is North America’s summer postseason tournament. The region’s top eight teams from 2021 will vie for North America’s three slots at the League of Legends World Championships and the LCS trophy.

The Prudential Center will feature the tournament’s final two best-of-five matches: the lower bracket final on Saturday, August 28, and the grand finals on Sunday, August 29. All three teams will have already qualified for Worlds 2021 in China.

Located in the heart of The Garden State’s largest city, the Prudential Center is the 19,500-seat home of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. Over its 13-year history, the arena has played host to countless concerts and sporting events, including the Rocket League Championship Series S7 Finals in 2019. LCS organization Dignitas QNTMPAY operates a 3,000 square-foot production studio and training facility directly adjacent to the Prudential Center.

The finals of the 2021 LCS Spring Playoffs featured the semifinals and finals matches, which featured TSM versus Team Liquid and Team Liquid versus Cloud9, respectively, were played offline at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, but COVID-19 regulations stopped fans from being able to attend safely. The finals of the 2021 LCS Championship will mark the first post-season match in North America with live fans since the finals of the 2019 LCS Summer Playoffs in Detroit, Michigan.

Fan Fest will take place before each match in Championship Plaza and along Mulberry Street. Ticket-holding fans can enjoy activities hosted by LCS teams and sponsors, including food and games. 

All images by: Riot Games