Entering its second year, LEC surprised everyone with its great format change. The play-off system we’re used to is being eliminated and the scoring system is being brought in.
2019 had been great for the LEC. Europe, which rose under the leadership of G2 Esports, has shown its strength to everyone with achievements in international tournaments. In a time when everyone was talking about whether China or Korea was the best League of Legends region in the world, the European teams were able to show force and defeat the Chinese and Korean representatives. First, the region experienced MSI Championship on the shoulders of G2 Esports, then went to the Worlds final with G2 again, but tragically, lost the final to the Chinese representative FunPlus Phoenix. A lot of European teams were able to exit the groups in 2019 Worlds. These achievements have added Europe to the “which one is the world’s best league” question.
In 2020, the LEC shows that it wants to clinch those successes by regulating the league system. The regular season will continue again with each team playing each other two times a game. In the Play-offs, things get a bit complicated. The finalists will play at least 2 matches over “best of 5” before reaching the final. Which suggests the finalists will have a harder work on the way to the final.
Play-Off System
The old match-up logic in the play-offs has changed. The play- offs are spread over 3 weeks. In the 1st match, the team that finishes 1st in the regular season will choose one of the teams that finishes 3rd or 4th as their opponent. In the 2nd match, the team that finished 2nd will match the team that was not selected in the 1st match. In the 3rd match, the 5th and 6th teams will be matched.
The winner of the 3rd match will play in the 1st match of the 2nd week i.e. the fourth match in total, with the lowest ranked team from the losers of the first and second matches. in the fifth match, the winner of the first and second matches each other. in the sixth match, the winner of the fourth match will play with the highest ranked of the losers of the first and second match.
In the first match of the 3rd week, i.e. the 7th match, the winner of the 6th match will play with the loser of the 5th match. The last game will be the final. The winner of the 7th match and the winner of the 5th match will be challenging in the final.
Riot explained that they worked together with LEC teams, players, coaches and community members to create this system.
Scoring System
Under the LEC scoring system, points during the spring season will depend on performances in the play-offs. The most successful team in the play-offs will receive 90 points, second 70, third 50, fourth 30, fifth 20, sixth 10. In the summer, however, the scoring system will depend on performances in the regular season. The most successful team in the regular season will get 140 points, second 100, third 70, fourth 50, fifth 30, sixth 20. Thus, the teams that will participate in the summer play-offs will be determined according to these points. Going to World Championship stage is going to be harder in League of Legends 2020 Season.