2021 LCS season
The 2021 LCS season was the fourth year of North America's League Championship Series, a professional esports league for the MOBA PC game League of Legends, under partnership and the ninth overall.
| 2021 LCS season | |
|---|---|
| League | LCS |
| Sport | League of Legends |
| Duration | January 15–31 (Lock In) February 5 – March 14 (Spring) March 20 – April 11 (Mid-Season) June 4 – August 1 (Summer) |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| TV partner(s) | English: Twitch, YouTube |
| Lock In | |
| Winner | Team Liquid |
| Runners-up | Cloud9 |
| Spring | |
| Winner | Cloud9 |
| Runners-up | Team Liquid |
| Top seed | Cloud9 |
| Season MVP | Robert "Blaber" Huang[1] (Cloud9) |
| Summer | |
| Winner | 100 Thieves |
| Runners-up | Team Liquid |
| Top seed | Team SoloMid |
| Season MVP | Mingyi "Spica" Lu (Team SoloMid)[2] |
The pre-season Lock In tournament began on January 15 and concluded on January 31.[3]
The spring regular season began on February 5 and concluded on March 14. The Mid-Season Showdown, which replaced the spring playoffs, began on March 20 and concluded on April 11.[4] The summer regular season began on June 4 and concluded on August 1.
The three teams that qualified for the World Championship in 2021 were 100 Thieves, Team Liquid, and Cloud9.[5]
League changes
Shortly after the conclusion of the 2020 World Championship, Riot Games announced several major changes regarding the league's format. A new, three-week preseason tournament was introduced, titled the LCS Lock In. The top two teams from the previous season would be able to choose their opponents, selecting them into 2 groups for a play-in group stage. Each group would play in a four-day single Round Robin, with the top four teams from each group being seeded into an eight-team, single-elimination bracket. The winner of the bracket would receive a cash prize of US$150,000, along with a US$50,000 donation to the charity of their choice.[6]
The regular season schedule was expanded to five games each day, across three days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). The spring playoffs were also replaced with the "Mid-Season Showdown".[7] While the playoff format remained nearly identical to previous seasons, there were three minor changes. The first seed must now always play the fourth seed, rather than choosing their opponent; side selection always goes to the team that most recently dropped from the upper bracket; and ties would now be broken by seeding.[8] The winner of the Mid-Season Showdown would qualify for the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational. Standings and team records from the spring regular season would be continued into the summer regular season as opposed to resetting like previous seasons.[9]
In January 2021, the league rebranded its logo, featuring a new logo and refreshed visual identity.[10]
Broadcasting
The live English broadcast was available on the LoL Esports website, as well as on Twitch and YouTube.[11] A Spanish broadcast was produced by the LCS team FlyQuest.[12]
Lock In
Group stage
- Group A
| Pos | Team | W | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 Thieves | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Team Liquid | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | Team SoloMid | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Golden Guardians | 1 | 3 | −2 |
| 5 | Counter Logic Gaming | 1 | 3 | −2 |
- Group B
| Pos | Team | W | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evil Geniuses | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Cloud9 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | FlyQuest | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Immortals | 1 | 3 | −2 |
| 5 | Dignitas | 1 | 3 | −2 |
Knockout stage
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| A1 | 100 Thieves | 2 | ||||||||||||
| B4 | Immortals | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 100 Thieves | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Cloud9 | 3 | |||||||||||||
| B2 | Cloud9 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| A3 | Team SoloMid | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Cloud9 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Team Liquid | 3 | |||||||||||||
| B1 | Evil Geniuses | 2 | ||||||||||||
| A4 | Golden Guardians | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Evil Geniuses | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Team Liquid | 3 | |||||||||||||
| A2 | Team Liquid | 2 | ||||||||||||
| B3 | FlyQuest | 0 | ||||||||||||
Spring
Teams and rosters
| Teams | Roster | Coach | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top | Jungle | Mid | Bot | Support | ||
| 100 Thieves | Ssumday | Closer | Damonte ry0ma |
FBI | huhi | Zikz |
| Cloud9 | Fudge | Blaber | Perkz | Zven | Vulcan | Reignover |
| Counter Logic Gaming | Finn | Broxah Griffin |
rjs Pobelter |
WildTurtle | Smoothie | Galen |
| Dignitas | FakeGod | Dardoch | Soligo | Neo | Aphromoo | Jimmy |
| Evil Geniuses | Impact | Svenskeren | Jiizuke | Deftly | IgNar | Mash Peter Dun |
| FlyQuest | Licorice | Josedeodo | Palafox | Johnsun | Diamond Dreams |
Kanani |
| Golden Guardians | Niles | Iconic | Ablazeolive | Stixxay | Newbie | Inero |
| Immortals | Revenge | Xerxe | Insanity | Raes | Destiny | Guilhoto |
| Team Liquid | Alphari | Santorin Armao |
Jensen | Tactical | CoreJJ | Jatt |
| Team SoloMid | Huni | Spica | PowerOfEvil | Lost | SwordArt | Bjergsen |
Regular season
| Pos | Team | W | L | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cloud9 | 13 | 5 | 8 | Start in winners' bracket |
| 2 | Team SoloMid | 12 | 6 | 6 | |
| 3 | Team Liquid | 12 | 6 | 6 | |
| 4 | 100 Thieves | 11 | 7 | 4 | |
| 5 | Dignitas | 11 | 7 | 4 | Start in losers' bracket |
| 6 | Evil Geniuses | 10 | 8 | 2 | |
| 7 | Immortals | 7 | 11 | −4 | |
| 8 | FlyQuest | 6 | 12 | −6 | |
| 9 | Counter Logic Gaming | 5 | 13 | −8 | |
| 10 | Golden Guardians | 3 | 15 | −12 |
Mid-Season Showdown
| Upper round 1 | Upper final | Final | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Team SoloMid | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Team Liquid | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Team Liquid | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Cloud9 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Cloud9 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 100 Thieves | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Cloud9 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower round 2 | Lower final | 3 | Team Liquid | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Team SoloMid | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Team Liquid | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Evil Geniuses | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Team SoloMid | 3 | 2 | Team SoloMid | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | 100 Thieves | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 100 Thieves | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Dignitas | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Awards
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MVP | Blaber | Cloud9 |
| Coaching Staff of the Split | Cloud9 Staff | Cloud9 |
| 1st Team All-Pro | Alphari | Team Liquid |
| Blaber | Cloud9 | |
| Perkz | Cloud9 | |
| Zven | Cloud9 | |
| CoreJJ | Team Liquid | |
| 2nd Team All-Pro | Impact | Evil Geniuses |
| Santorin | Team Liquid | |
| PowerOfEvil | Team SoloMid | |
| FBI | 100 Thieves | |
| Vulcan | Cloud9 | |
| 3rd Team All-Pro | Huni | Team SoloMid |
| Dardoch | Dignitas | |
| Jensen | Team Liquid | |
| Neo | Dignitas | |
| SwordArt | Team SoloMid |
Ranking
| Pos | Team | Prize (USD) | Prize share | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Cloud9 | $100,000 | 50% | MSI 2021 |
 |
Team Liquid | $50,000 | 25% | |
 |
Team SoloMid | $30,000 | 15% | |
| 4th | 100 Thieves | $20,000 | 10% | |
| 5th/6th | Evil Geniuses | |||
| Dignitas |
Summer
Teams and rosters
| Teams | Roster | Coach | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top | Jungle | Mid | Bot | Support | ||
| 100 Thieves | Ssumday Tenacity |
Closer Kenvi |
Abbedagge ry0ma |
FBI Luger |
huhi Poome |
Reapered |
| Cloud9 | Fudge | Blaber | Perkz | Zven k1ng |
Vulcan | Mithy |
| Counter Logic Gaming | Finn | Broxah | Pobelter Damonte |
WildTurtle | Smoothie | Galen |
| Dignitas | FakeGod | Akaadian Dardoch |
Yusui Soligo |
Neo | aphromoo | Jimmy |
| Evil Geniuses | Impact | Svenskeren Contractz |
Jiizuke | Danny | IgNar | Peter Dun |
| FlyQuest | Licorice Kumo |
Josedeodo Nxi |
Palafox Triple |
Johnsun Tomo |
Dreams Diamond |
Kanani |
| Golden Guardians | Solo Licorice |
Iconic | Ablazeolive | Stixxay | Chime | Inero |
| Immortals | Revenge | Xerxe | Insanity Pretty |
Raes | Destiny | Guilhoto |
| Team Liquid | Alphari Jenkins |
Santorin Armao |
Jensen | Tactical | CoreJJ | Jatt Kold |
| Team SoloMid | Huni | Spica | PowerOfEvil | Lost | SwordArt | Bjergsen |
Regular season
| Pos | Team | W | L | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team SoloMid | 30 | 15 | 15 | Start in winners' bracket second round |
| 2 | 100 Thieves | 29 | 16 | 13 | |
| 3 | Evil Geniuses | 28 | 17 | 11 | Start in winners' bracket |
| 4 | Cloud9 | 28 | 17 | 11 | |
| 5 | Team Liquid | 27 | 18 | 9 | |
| 6 | Dignitas | 23 | 22 | 1 | |
| 7 | Immortals | 20 | 25 | −5 | Start in losers' bracket |
| 8 | Golden Guardians | 14 | 31 | −17 | |
| 9 | FlyQuest | 14 | 31 | −17 | |
| 10 | Counter Logic Gaming | 12 | 33 | −21 |
Playoffs
| Upper round 1 | Upper round 2 | Upper final | Final | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Team SoloMid | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Cloud9 | 1 | 5 | Team Liquid | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Team Liquid | 3 | 5 | Team Liquid | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 100 Thieves | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 100 Thieves | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Evil Geniuses | 3 | 3 | Evil Geniuses | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Dignitas | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Team Liquid | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 100 Thieves | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 3 | Lower final | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Immortals | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Immortals | 3 | 1 | Team SoloMid | 3 | 2 | 100 Thieves | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | Dignitas | 0 | 1 | Team SoloMid | 2 | 4 | Cloud9 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | Cloud9 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Cloud9 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Golden Guardians | 0 | 3 | Evil Geniuses | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Cloud9 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Awards
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MVP | Spica | Team SoloMid |
| Most Improved Player | Fudge | Cloud9 |
| Coaching Staff of the Split | Peter Dun Artemis | Evil Geniuses |
| Rookie of the Year | Danny | Evil Geniuses |
| 1st Team All-Pro | Fudge | Cloud9 |
| Spica | Team SoloMid | |
| Jiizuke | Evil Geniuses | |
| FBI | 100 Thieves | |
| CoreJJ | Team Liquid | |
| 2nd Team All-Pro | Impact | Evil Geniuses |
| Closer | 100 Thieves | |
| Abbedagge | 100 Thieves | |
| Danny | Evil Geniuses | |
| huhi | 100 Thieves | |
| 3rd Team All-Pro | Huni | Team SoloMid |
| Blaber | Cloud9 | |
| PowerOfEvil | Team SoloMid | |
| Tactical | Team Liquid | |
| Vulcan | Cloud9 |
Ranking
| Pos | Team | Prize (USD) | Prize share | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
100 Thieves | $100,000 | 50% | 2021 World Championship Main Event (First seed) |
|
Team Liquid | $50,000 | 25% | 2021 World Championship Main Event (Second seed) |
|
Cloud9 | $30,000 | 15% | 2021 World Championship Play-In Stage (Third seed) |
| 4th | Team SoloMid | $20,000 | 10% | |
| 5th/6th | Evil Geniuses | |||
| Immortals | ||||
| 7th/8th | Golden Guardians | |||
| Dignitas |
References
- Rockwood, Bryan (10 April 2021). "Blaber Wins MVP for 2021 LCS Spring Split". The Game Haus.
- Kelly, Michael (27 August 2021). "TSM jungler Spica wins 2021 LCS MVP award". Dot Esports.
- Hanes, Robert (2 January 2021). "What is the 2021 LCS Start Date?". The Game Haus.
- "C9, 100T continue torrid start at LCS Spring Split". Reuters. 8 February 2021.
- Heath, Jerome (29 August 2021). "All teams qualified for the 2021 League of Legends World Championship". Dot Esports.
- Çakır, Gökhan (12 January 2021). "How to watch the LCS 2021 Lock In: Format, schedule, and more". Dot Esports.
- Soba, Carly (9 January 2021). "What you need to know about the 2021 LCS format change". Daily Esports.
- "2021 LCS Season Updates". LoL Esports. 14 December 2020.
- Ray, Nick (21 December 2020). "2021 LCS Format Breaks Spring Split Into Three Parts". Hotspawn.
- Kelly, Michael (5 January 2021). "The 2021 LCS rebrand signals a new direction for a youthful, energized league". Dot Esports.
- Tyler, Josh (15 January 2021). "LCS 2021: Where, When, and How to Watch the LCS Lock-In Tournament". Blog of Legends.
- Geracie, Nick (4 February 2021). "FlyQuest to produce Spanish co-stream for 2021 LCS season". www.invenglobal.com.
