LCS 2024: What’s new in North America’s top League of Legends circuit

Exciting news awaits League of Legends fans as the 2024 season of the League Championships Series (LCS), North America’s top-tier competition, is about to commence this weekend. Alongside the customary offseason roster shuffle, there have been notable changes to the schedule and teams participating in the LCS. Let’s dive into the latest updates for this year’s LCS, including a rundown of each team’s revamped roster. Get ready for an action-packed season ahead!

LCS changes for 2024

The 2024 LCS season brings significant changes to the table. The most notable one is the reduction in the number of teams from 10 to eight. Last year, Riot Games gave teams the option to leave the LCS, and both Evil Geniuses and Golden Guardians took this opportunity and withdrew. While EG’s departure was somewhat expected due to their well-documented financial issues and mismanagement, GG’s exit came as a surprise, especially considering their improved performance in 2023 and their association with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.

Among the remaining eight teams, there is a new addition to the league this year, Shopify Rebellion, who acquired TSM’s previous slot in the LCS. TSM’s departure is a significant change for the league as the organization has been a part of North American League of Legends esports since its inception, boasting top-tier players like Soren “Bjergsen” Bjerg and Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng.

Another notable change is the return of LCS games to weekends, reverting back from the weekday schedule introduced last year to accommodate VALORANT games. This shift in scheduling caused fan outrage and potentially affected viewership. This year, both VALORANT and League of Legends will share the Riot Games Arena, leading to a peculiar two-weekend break for the LCS in February. The scheduling for the summer split, which will clash with Splits 1 and 2 of the VCT season, is yet to be determined.

Overall, the 2024 LCS season promises excitement with its team changes, new additions, and the return of weekend games. Fans can look forward to an eventful year of League of Legends esports.

Schedule and format

The upcoming spring split in the LCS will witness the participation of eight teams, engaging in a double round robin format over a course of six weeks. Notably, there will be a two-week break between Weeks 4 and 5, spanning the latter half of February.

Teams will compete in two games per week, primarily on Saturdays and Sundays, with the exception of Weeks 3 and 6, which will be designated as super weeks. During these exceptional weeks, teams will battle it out in three games, taking place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The matches are scheduled to kick off at 12 p.m. PT every day. The excitement commences with Week 1 on January 20, while the spring split draws to a close with Week 6 on March 10, leading the top six teams to advance to the spring split playoffs.

Teams and rosters

100 Thieves

• Rayan “Sniper” Shoura
• Kim “River”Dong-woo
• Lim “Quid” Hyeon-seung
• Brandon “Meech” Choi
• Bill “Eyla” Nguyen

100 Thieves is undergoing a significant transformation for the 2024 season, shifting their focus from seasoned veterans like Bjergsen and Doublelift to a younger generation. This youth movement is spearheaded by Sniper, a highly anticipated prospect in North America who joined 100 Thieves at the age of 15 in 2021. Over the past few years, Sniper has honed his skills within various developmental teams affiliated with 100 Thieves. Joining him is Meech, who is set to make his professional debut after competing in the North American Tier 2 scene for the past few years. Another addition to the team is Quid, a 19-year-old Korean player who previously progressed through Gen.G’s developmental squads. Quid joined 100 Thieves midway through 2023 and is the only returning player from the previous year’s roster.

Cloud9

• Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami
• Robert “Blaber” Huang
• Joseph “jojopyun” Joon Pyun
• Kim “Berserker” Min-cheol
• Philippe “VULCAN” Laflamme

Cloud9 consistently ranks among the top teams in the LCS and represents North America on the international stage. This year, they have put together an exciting superteam that is poised for success. Fudge and Blaber have been instrumental in the team’s achievements over the past few years, serving as key pillars of their success. Vulcan, the reigning LCS MVP, returns to provide support to the talented Berserker.

However, the real excitement lies in the addition of jojopyun to the roster. Since his debut at the young age of 17 with Evil Geniuses in 2022, jojo has quickly become one of the most captivating players in the LCS. His exceptional skills and confident playstyle make him a must-watch player, and he gained valuable international experience in his rookie season. While superteams don’t always live up to expectations, on paper, this Cloud9 lineup has tremendous potential and promises an exciting season ahead.

Dignitas

• Lee “Rich” Jae-won
• Lawrence “eXyu” Lin Xu
• Kim “Dove” Jae-yeon
• Frank “Tomo” Lam
• Jonah “Isles” Rosario

Rich and Tomo are making a comeback to the Dignitas lineup, bringing their expertise to a team that demonstrated significant improvement in the summer split compared to the spring. EXyu, who has spent the majority of the past few years with Dignitas’ Academy and Challengers teams, will once again have the opportunity to start for Dignitas’ LCS team, as he did in the summer of 2022. Isles, who spent several years with Cloud9, primarily playing for their Tier 2 teams, will also have a chance to start in the LCS this year. However, the most intriguing addition to the roster is Dove. Having competed in the LCK from 2019 to 2022, Dove brings a wealth of experience. Last year, he began the season as a starter for Invictus Gaming in China before being benched midway through the season.

FlyQuest

• Gabriël “Bwipo” Rau
• Kacper “Inspired” Słoma
• Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen
• Fahad “Massu” Abdulmalek
• Alan “Busio” Cwalina

FlyQuest generated considerable excitement last year, but unfortunately fell short of expectations, prompting the organization to hit the reset button for the 2024 season. This year’s team, on paper, appears to have the potential to be competitive, though expectations are more modest. It comprises a mix of three seasoned players and two up-and-coming talents.

Bwipo is making a return to competitive play after a year spent primarily streaming. He achieved significant success in Europe, including reaching the Worlds final with Fnatic in 2018. However, his first year in North America with Team Liquid in 2022 was underwhelming. Another experienced European player, Inspired, is also returning to professional play after not being signed by a team last summer. He earned the title of LCS MVP in 2022 when Evil Geniuses dominated the North American scene. Jensen, who missed Worlds for the first time in his eight-year career last year, is determined to bounce back and secure a spot in the international tournament alongside his new teammates.

The veteran trio will be joined by rookie Massu and second-year player Busio. Nineteen-year-old Massu has been promoted from FlyQuest’s Challengers team and will form a bot lane partnership with Busio, who had a promising debut year in 2023. While Busio had the opportunity to learn from the seasoned veteran Doublelift last year, he will now have to apply all the lessons he learned as the more experienced member of this duo.

Immortals

• Cho “Castle” Hyeon-seong
• Jonathan “Armao” Armao
• Lee “Mask” Sang-hun
• Edward “Tactical” Ra
• Kim “Olleh” Joo-sung

Immortals is starting fresh in 2024 after a disappointing year in 2023. The team’s roster is a diverse mix of experienced veterans and promising young players with varied backgrounds. Tactical is the only returning member for Immortals, while Olleh, an LCS veteran who previously played for the team in 2017, will be his new bot lane partner.

Joining them are two talented Korean rookies, Castle and Mask, who will be making their debut in North America. In 2022, Castle and Mask played together on KT Challengers. Castle, a 21-year-old, has been developing his skills on KT’s Tier 2 teams since 2021, while Mask, 23, has played for several Korean teams before joining KT. Notably, Mask also had a stint with Europe’s Unicorns of Love Sexy Edition last year, showcasing his versatility and international experience.

NRG

• Niship “Dhokla” Doshi
• Juan Arturo “Contractz” Garcia
• Cristian “Palafox” Palafox
• Ian “FBI” Victor Huang
• Choi “huhi” Jae-hyun

Entering their second year in the league, the current LCS champions are surrounded by heightened anticipation, yet they still seem to be underrated, particularly considering their victory over G2 and their impressive journey to the Worlds quarterfinals last year. NRG made only one change to their roster in the offseason, adding the experienced support player huhi. With a successful track record on teams like 100 Thieves and Golden Guardians, huhi’s addition is expected to bolster NRG’s strength even further.

Among all the teams in the LCS, this roster thrives on being underestimated and has consistently improved year after year since the core players Dhokla, Contractz, and Palafox first teamed up with CLG in 2022, guided by coach Thomas “Thinkcard” Slotkin. NRG has steadily progressed, defying expectations. They are poised to be fierce competitors throughout the year, going head-to-head with Cloud9 in the race for the LCS championship.

Shopify Rebellion

• Aaron “FakeGod” Lee
• Lee “Bugi” Seong-yeop
• David “Insanity” Challe
• Ju “Bvoy” Yeong-hoon
• Tristan “Zeyzal” Stidam

Shopify has acquired TSM’s slot in the LCS and has signed two members from TSM’s 2023 roster: Bugi and Insanity. They will be joined by FakeGod and Zeyzal, who achieved victory in the North American Challengers League last year as part of Disguised. FakeGod is returning to the top-tier competition in North America after an absence since 2022. Zeyzal’s last LCS appearance goes even further back, all the way to 2020 – a significant gap in the fast-paced world of esports.

Adding to the mix is Bvoy, who will make his debut in North America after having played in various regions. The 26-year-old Korean briefly competed in his home country before transitioning to China from 2016 to 2019. He also had a short stint in Europe in 2020 before spending time playing in Brazil and Latin America since 2020.

Team Liquid

• Jeong “Impact” Eon-young
• Eom “UmTi” Seong-hyeon
• Eain “APA” Stearns
• Sean “Yeon” Sung
• Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in

Team Liquid had a lackluster performance in the 2023 spring split but showed improvement during the summer, particularly after incorporating APA as their mid laner. The team surpassed expectations by securing a third-place finish in the playoffs and earning a spot in Worlds. This roster continues the trend of predominantly Korean players that was established last year, with APA, Yeon, and CoreJJ all making a return. Impact, widely regarded as one of the best top laners in North America, represents a significant upgrade over Park “Summit” Woo-tae. It also marks a reunion between Impact and CoreJJ, who previously played together on successful Team Liquid rosters in 2019 and 2020.

However, the decision to replace 2022 world champion Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon with jungler Eom “UmTi” Seong-hyeon raises some questions. UmTi, a 24-year-old Korean player, will be making his North American debut and does not arrive with a reputation as a highly promising prospect.