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Riot Games has revealed the changes coming to the North American LCS in 2017, and there isn’t all that much different.
The big talking point in that relegation has been tweaked, just like in Europe, so that only the bottom two teams will have to play in the promotion tournament. This promotion tournament will be played in best of five matches, if you win two you are in the LCS, lose two and you are in Challenger.
Elsewhere the prize pool of the league has been increased to $200,000 and teams have been guaranteed at least $50,000 in digital item revenue.
Head coaches will also receive the same protection as players when it comes to poaching, and their contracts will be added to the public database.
Teams can now add three in active players to their roster, that are unable to play in any matches but get the benefits of a normal team member such as poaching protection. This is designed to stop any issues if a played experiences visa issues.
Riot has also added a quicker arbitration process to speed up any issues that may occur during the season. This new system will allow teams to present their own evidence quickly and should result in an outcome within days. This will only be available for judgements that include a suspension for one or more games or a fine greater than $10,000.
