Changes Coming to League of Legends Competitive Format

League of Legends developer Riot Games recently announced that, starting with the summer split in 2016, it would shift its competitive format in the North American league from a best-of-one to a best-of-three. And for the European league, the format will shift from a best-of-one to a best-of-two.

Riot has stated their reasoning behind the change:

"Best-of-twos share some of the consistency of the best-of-one format (a predictable and regular series with fixed slots for each match to begin) but offers the chance for adaptation between games, which helps teams prep for international competition. Each team gets to play each side once, and total number of games played is the same for all teams. Each game is therefore meaningful and rewarded with a point, forcing stronger teams to win more consistently to create separation within the standings. A drawback with best-of-twos is the possibility of 1-1 ties - this preserves tension for the playoffs but can feel unsatisfying in the regular season.

Best-of-threes provide a lot of competitive benefits, including rigorous competition between teams due to the sheer number of games. In common with best-of-ones, it's also emotionally satisfying to watch as a fan since there's a clear winner at the end of every series. A drawback is that each matchup between teams may seem less fair because of the number of games on each side and total number of games played. Like best-of-twos, best-of-threes could also offer less popular and/or low interest match-ups for an extended time.

Switching to this new Double best-of-two and best-of-three formats brings other challenges, including a more demanding schedule for players and more resources needed to support extended broadcasts. Ultimately when we looked at the individual demands of the EU and NA LCS we felt that the benefits from an entertainment and competitive standpoint outweighed these concerns."

Riot also shared its reasoning behind the two different formats. Since many European sports use a best-of-two, Riot decided the best course of action was to implement that same format for its European league. On the other hand, because North America has a "regional sport tradition of avoiding ties," a best-of-three would be the best format to change to.