Next month the third season of the League of Legends Championship Series will begin. Today Riot Games provided details on the international competition, which will offer millions of dollars in prize money to players.
The top eight teams from North America and Europe will each compete within their own division for the regular season. In the first half of the season, each team will play four matches against the other teams in their division, for a total of 28 games. This part of the season runs from February 7th to April 20th.
The top six teams in each division will then compete in separate tournaments to win prizes and the right to advance to the second half of the season. The teams that lose the wildcard round will still have a chance to come back in the second half, though. However, they'll have to beat the seventh and eighth place teams from the first half of the season, as well as top amateur players, in a separate tournament in order to make their return.
The next event is called the All-Star break. The best players from throughout the world will join forces into regional teams. These teams will then go head-to-head for additional prizes.
The second half of the season then begins on June 1st and runs through August 31st. This part of the season works about the same as the first half. The difference is that the next divisional playoffs tournament determines who will go on to the World Championships.
LoL players will be able to watch all the action live in HD. The broadcasts include interviews, analysis and stats. Riot Games will offer this video coverage for free.
Professional LoL events are always a big draw. Last season's championship was watched by 8 million people. We'll see if the addition of a regular season will grow the viewership even more.
