Posted on by GameGnome

LPL 2018 Spring Split: How to Watch

LoL eSports

L;DR

  • LPL returns on January 15th
  • LPL will run six days a week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
  • Start times are 5pm CST (China Standard Time) / 1AM PST (Pacific Standard Time) / 10 AM CET (Central European Time) on every day but Sunday. Sunday start time is 2 PM CST / 10 PM PST​ / 7AM CET
  • The LPL English broadcast will broadcast 4 days a week: Monday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
  • LPL games are available in English on Twitch, Youtube, Pandatv, and Douyu.

With the 2018 Spring Split approaching, the English broadcast team is gearing up for a brand new on-site production of the LPL in Shanghai. Here are all the details you need to know to catch the largest region in the world:

FRANCHISED TEAMS

The LPL expanded and franchised for 2018. 14 teams now battle in two Conferences: East vs West with only the top 4 in each Conference advancing to the Playoffs after 10 grueling weeks of competition.

West Conference

  • Edward Gaming (EDG)
  • Team WE (WE)
  • Oh My God (OMG)
  • Snake Esports (SNAKE)
  • BiliBili Gaming (BLG)
  • Vici Gaming (VG)
  • FunPlus Phoenix (FPX)

East Conference 

  • Royal Never Give Up (RNG)
  • SN Gaming (SNG)
  • Invictus Gaming (iG)
  • JD Gaming (JDG)
  • LGD Gaming (LGD)
  • TopSports Gaming (TOP)
  • Rogue Warriors (RW)

The LPL will continue to expand each year by promoting 2 teams from the LDL (League of Legends Development League) until the LPL reaches 20 teams in 2021.

HOME AND AWAY GAMES

Of the 14 teams competing in the LPL, 3 are geo-locked into either the East or West Conferences respective to the city of their Arena. These arenas will be used for Home games of those teams.

  • OMG – Chengdu (West)
  • Snake Esports – Chongqing (West)
  • LGD Gaming – Hangzhou (East)

OMG and Snake’s arenas will be used after Chinese New Year. Home/Away games will be designated on the schedule and the English broadcast will be covering these games from our broadcast headquarters in Shanghai.

DYNAMIC SCHEDULE

With the expansion of the LPL, the English Channel will broadcast 4 set days a week: Monday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; selecting the best games of the week when a dual series occurs. The English Broadcast schedule will attempt to remain static for consistent viewing times, but may be updated to allow the ability to pivot game coverage depending on emerging narratives and important playoff implications.

During Home/Away games in the OMG, SNAKE, or LGD Arenas, dual streams will be used as series run at the same time. It’s important to note that Home/Away Games start times are exact and will commence for the local audience’s convenience, even if the previous Series in Shanghai is still running.

MULTIPLE STREAMS

Due to the sheer size and number of games broadcast, the LPL will be using multiple streams to cover all the action. And for the first time ever, the English broadcast will also be available and streamed on Chinese platforms: Pandatv and DouyuTV.

LEAGUE FORMAT

The LPL uses a Bo3 round robin format to distribute points based on outcome:

  • +1 point for Series victory
  • +0 points for a Series loss

The owner of the spot is weighted by:

  • Series Points
  • Head-to-Head
  • Number of Wins

In the occurrence of multiple teams having the same number of points, split head-to-head, and number of map wins – a Bo3 tiebreaker will decide who owns the spot.

The 10 weeks of competition break down into two sections: Intraconference and Cross-Conference:

  • Weeks 1-3 will commence the first portion of the Intraconference double round-robin.
  • Weeks 4-7 will cover Cross-Conference where West Conference vs East Conference will face-off in a single round-robin.
  • Weeks 7-10 will finish the second portion of the Intraconference double-round robin.

The top 4 teams in each Conference will move onto the Playoff Gauntlet; which is a weighted bracket seeded by finished position in regular season.

BROADCAST TIMES

The LPL will broadcast 6 days a week; everyday but Thursday. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday all have 2 Bo3 Series back to back. The games begin at 5pm CST (China Standard Time).

On Saturday, an extra Bo3 series will play. Two of the series will play locally in the Shanghai studio and one Away Series in either the LGD, OMG, or Snake Arenas (3 Series total). The local games will commence one after the other, while all Home/Away Games will start at their designated start times for local audiences, regardless of whether the first Bo3 has concluded.

Dual Mandarin Chinese streams will be used to cover Series overlap; however English coverage will only broadcast one of these series.

Sundays will have 3 Bo3 Series and will begin at 2pm CST.

LPL ENGLISH CONTENT

To keep English viewers up-to-date on all things LPL check out our various channels for original and translated content!

  • Twitter
  • LPL English Website (Coming Soon)

Watch live video from LPL1 on www.twitch.tv

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