League of Legends2020 Championship Series (LCS) Spring Split Playoffs have a new home in the United States: ESPN.
The network today announced five games with airwaves on ESPN2, the secondary network that ESPN uses for much of its esports coverage, and via the ESPN app. Those matches will also be made available to replay in the ESPN app right after the end of the games. The first game of the championship series will take place at 100 Thieves against TSM on Wednesday, April 8 at 4 p.m. ET.
“We are excited to partner with Riot Games to create innovative content capabilities around this great franchise system,” said John Lasker, vice president of digital programming at ESPN. “Presenting one of the most popular esports in the world with the LCS ‘Spring Split playoffs will allow ESPN to serve a new audience.”
The Spring Split Playoffs is one of the biggest League of Legends leagues of the year so far, and the winner will represent North America at Mid-Season Invitational 2020 in July. While games are still streamed on platforms like Twitch, this is another sign of ESPN’s commitment to esports. The network aired a 12-hour marathon over the weekend, featuring games like Rocket League, NBA 2K, and Madden as a way to fill programming.
ESPN has had a big hit in recent weeks as every major sports league has suspended their seasons as people around the world to curb the spread of the new corona virus.
The full schedule for League of LegendsThe spring tournament can be seen below.
100 Thieves vs. TSM: April 8, 4 p.m. ET
Evil Geniuses vs. Cloud9: April 11, 4 p.m. ET
Flyquest vs. Winner Match 4: April 12, 4 p.m. ET
Third Place Competition: April 18, 4 p.m. ET
LCS Spring Split Championship: April 19, 4 p.m. ET