As the the last of the glitter from the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational is swept away, we’re finalizing all our preparations for the new and extended NA LCS Summer Split starting on June 3. As we previously announced, our NA LCS matchups will now be Best of 3 (Bo3) in the regular season.
Below is everything you need to know to get ready for Summer including the schedule, how you can catch the NA LCS action, and changes coming to the NA LCS studio.
What’s the NA LCS Summer Split Schedule?
The regular season of the NA LCS Summer Split will take place from June 3 – August 6. Head over to the full NA LCS match schedule for matchups, locations, and streams.
NA LCS Summer Playoffs take place:
•Quarterfinals: August 13-14
•Semifinals: August 20-21
•Finals: August 27-28
How do I watch the NA LCS Summer Split? What’s changing?
Players will still be able to watch the NA LCS on:
•Lolesports
•Twitch
•YouTube
Lolesports
Our Watch Page will be updated to include a drop down menu to toggle between simultaneous streams.
Twitch
The biggest change is that the main RiotGames channel will no longer be streaming all games. We’ll be splitting the streaming of NA LCS games across three different channels.
•NALCS1 Channel: This channel will be primarily streaming games from the Battle Arena (main stage). Except for Fridays when games are only played in Battle Theater (our new stage), but will be streamed on NALCS1.
•NALCS2 Channel: This channel will be streaming exclusively games that are played in the Battle Theater on Saturdays and Sundays.
•RiotGames Channel: This main channel will rotate featuring exciting match-ups or fan-favorites from around the World.
YouTube
For YouTube, we’ll continue to stream all the games on Lolesports.
We’ll be releasing a full Watch Guide closer to the start of Summer Split with all the detailed changes on how you can watch the NA LCS this Summer.
What’s changing with Fantasy?
We’ll share more information about Fantasy changes next week.
What’s changing at the NA LCS studio?
New Battle Theater
During the break between splits, we’ve been putting the finishing touches to our second studio – an intimate space we’re calling the Battle Theater. This will have all the signatures of our Battle Arena in a smaller space, including a studio audience and players live on stage,and will host matches simultaneously on Saturdays and Sundays. We’ll also be hosting our newest match day on Friday nights from this new space.
Battle Arena
The Battle Arena we first unveiled in 2015 is almost unchanged. We’ll have a new Championship banner to commemorate our 2016 Spring Split Champions, Counter Logic Gaming. As usual, the Battle Arena will host a live studio audience and you can buy tickets via EventBrite. Battle Arena matches will take place on Saturdays and Sundays with all matches from this spot being shown on NALCS1.
How do I attend matches at the NA LCS studio?
Tickets for the NA LCS Summer Split will be available for the Battle Theater and Battle Arena matches starting on Friday, May 20 at 11:00 AM PT for the first 5 weeks of Summer. Head on over to our ticket guide for everything you need to know about buying tickets and visiting the NA LCS studio this Summer. For the full schedule of matches, check out the Summer Split schedule.
What are the stakes for NA LCS Summer Split?
Championship Points and Worlds 2016 spots are on the line.
Since the 2015 LCS season, NA and EU leagues will use Championship Points for World Championship qualification. The 1st place team of the Summer Split will automatically qualify (AQ) for Worlds as the first seed from that region. The team that has accrued the most championship points throughout the season will also qualify for Worlds as the second seed. The final worlds seed will be determined at the NA LCS Regional Qualifier at the NA LCS Studio on September 3-5.
Will NA LCS Summer Finals be on the road? If so, where are you going?
Yes, we’ll be hitting the road for NA LCS Summer Finals. There’s a lot of cool cities across North America that we’d like to visit and bring the live action of the LCS directly to local fans. We’ll announce our NA LCS Summer Finals location and ticket information early in the Summer Split.