8 Out of 10 NA LCS Players Want Format Change to Best of Two

Speaking to GameSpot two weeks ago, Team Liquid's Xpecial predicted a LCS format change to best of two matches, instead of the best of one games that teams play currently. The support player believes the alternative league style is more competitive, in part because it forces teams to adapt.

Following the interview, and partially due to the request of the /r/leagueoflegends reddit community, I decided to ask other members of the NA LCS what they would like to see in terms of format.

Xpecial's teammate, Quas, believes that best of two's add more excitement to the game, though he suggests that best of three might be even more ideal. Alternatively, Fenix enjoys the possibility of upsets in matches and the feeling that any team can walk away a winner in a best of one game. In an upcoming interview with GameSpot, Team Liquid jungler IWDominate expresses appreciation for a best of two format where teams clash once a split - a schedule that would allow teams to only visit the studio once a week.

On CLG, both Aphromoo and Pobelter want the suggested format change. Pobelter thinks the change would make NA LCS more interesting and that playing more than one game at a time could help the region's chances on the international stage. Aphromoo agrees with his teammate, but also would like to see the change because he dislikes the current pro player plight of traveling to the studio and spending the day there, only to play a single game.

Team Impulse's top and ad carry independently informed GameSpot of their preferences towards the best of two format. Apollo feels best of two's add diversity to the league and provide good practice for playoffs while Impact likes that the different match type allows for "second chances" after a team loses the first game.

Gravity's Bunny voted against his coach in an interview with the pair. Cop believes a best of two format better represents the strength of the teams playing. While Bunny admitted that he agreed with his coach, he feels that only having to play a single game a day is a better experience for LCS players.

Finally, Lemonnation reiterated comments he had made previously on reddit: best of two is the favored format of the Cloud9 support due to his belief that it adds more strategy to the game and allows a balance of blue and red side gameplay from both competitors.

((Editor's Note: The original version of this article did not include IWDominate's stance. This was a mistake and has been corrected.))