LEC teams are in the thick of the off-season and are looking to lock up their rosters for next year, but Riot Games has now announced the 2022 LEC start dates.
The 2022 LEC Spring Split will kick off on January 14 with a 15-game superweek which will see each team play three times across three consecutive days. Teams will then go on to play two matches per week, along with one other superweek, until a double round-robin has been completed.
Of the 10 teams that enter in the regular season, only the top six will move on to the playoffs. The start of the 2022 LEC Spring Playoffs begin on March 25 and conclude with the LEC Spring Finals weekend on April 9-10. Currently, there is no mention of any potential changes to the knockout format used last season.
Riot confirmed that all stages of the spring split, including the grand final, will be held in the LEC studio, however there was no mention in the announcement whether fans might be in attendance. Instead, the company explained that it is “currently working on delivering an even better online viewing experience for fans watching at home”.
In the same announcement, Riot Games also revealed some key start dates for Europe’s regional leagues.
Accredited ERLs including the Superliga, LFL, Prime League, Ultraliga, and NLC, all begin on the week of January 10, while the remaining, non-accredited leagues start the following week from January 17. European Masters, the Champions League-style tournament that provides a stage for LEC-hopeful talent, then takes place from April 4 after each regional league’s spring splits have come to a close.
The 2022 season is set to kick off a slew of changes to the leagues. In addition to the new accreditation system, bigger names are set to enter at both the organizational and personnel levels. That should make this season one of the most exciting yet.
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