The League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) is only weeks away, and the LCS has just announced the groups for the LCS Lock In tournament. The event features two groups of five teams, with the 2020 LCS Summer Split winners at the forefront. These two teams, FlyQuest and TSM, chose their opponents in an LCS Lock In Group Stage draft, resulting in the final schedule for the start of the tournament.
During this busy offseason, each team underwent major adjustments. TSM gained Søren “Bjergsen” as their new Head Coach, and FlyQuest imported Latin America’s best jungler to North America. Although these are only a few changes that went on in December 2020, there’s still plenty more to look forward to.
With change comes growth and challenges, and the LCS is looking to further develop its talent for 2021. With format changes and scheduling, this season may be its most competitive yet. Overall, fans are more than excited to watch their favorite teams go head-to-head against their rivals. Here are this season’s matchups.
Group A
- Team SoloMid
- Team Liquid
- 100 Thieves
- Counter Logic Gaming
- Golden Guardians
Group B
- FlyQuest
- Cloud9
- Evil Geniuses
- Dignitas
- Immortals
The Lock In group stage is comprised of a single round-robin format, with the top four teams advancing to an eight-team bracket stage. Eventually, this leads to the Best-of-3 Quarterfinals of the bracket stage and the Best-of-5 Semis and Finals stages. The three-week-long tournament will end one week before the official start of the LCS Spring Split. The winning team will earn $150,000 in prize money and $50,000 to give to a charity of their choice.
TSM and 100 Thieves will be the first teams to open the LCS Lock In, and fans are excited to see the outcome. Throughout the free agency period, 100 Thieves almost purged their entire team, bringing in new talent, such as Ian”FBI” Victor Huang while keeping Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho. On the other hand, TSM spent $6 million on one of China’s best support players, Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Chieh. This unpredictable Best of 1 may be similar to the other matches, as each team should have different perspectives and strategies to win with their new teammates.
@Cloud9 you seen how they butchered your name?
— TSM FTX (@TSM) January 8, 2021
The LCS Lock In tournament is scheduled to start at 3 PM PT with five matches playing back-to-back. The following day will begin at 1 PM PT, kicking off with Immortals vs. Evil Geniuses.
Which team are you rooting for? Let us know at the Daily Esports forums and be sure to stick with us for more League of Legends news and updates!
