LoL: LEC Returns January 22 For Spring Split
| Tags: League of Legends
| Author David Hollingsworth
The LEC is set to return early in 2021 with the Spring Split set for Friday 22 January 2021.
It might seem like yesterday that we were talking about Worlds 2020, alas, the LEC is already almost upon us. With Europe having a solid 2020, though disappointing at Worlds, 2021 is an important year for Europe’s premier League of Legends league.
Europe has had quite the shakeup in the 2020 off-season. With G2 Esports’ Mid laner, come ADC Luka “Perkz” Perković moving to Cloud9, the side replaced him with out of contract Fnatic ADC Martin “Rekkles” Larsson to fill the void. In his place, Fnatic signed Elias “Upset” Lipp and mid laner Nisqy.
Read More: Fnatic Re-signs Former Mid Laner Nisqy
Elsewhere, fellow Worlds qualifiers MAD Lions and Rogue made changes. Clearly looking to build on their 2020 displays and cement themselves as LEC powerhouses. As for the rest of the pack, it’ll be about smaller changes; as sides try to close the gap to the top of the league. Sides like Team Vitality, SK Gaming, Misfits Gaming, Excel Esports, and Astralis (formerly Origen) will be looking to climb into playoff spots as preparation for Worlds 2021 starts.
Lastly, Schalke 04 will be looking to build on their miracle run in 2020. The side went from last place in the first half of Summer to playoffs and just two series away from a spot at Worlds. While the miracle run ran out of steam if Schalke 04 can build on that momentum into 2021 they might be a team worth worrying about.
LEC format remains, despite LCS changes
Unlike its sister league in North America, the LEC seems to have forgone making changes to its format for Spring Split. While the LCS is ripping up the playbook, the LEC seems happy with the results of their system.
Also Read: LCS Announces Format Changes Ahead Of 2021 Season
The only thing we still don’t know at this time is what impact COVID-19 will continue to have on the broadcast. Europe is still tackling the virus, despite a vaccine beginning to be rolled out slowly around the globe. We’ll likely hear more closer to the time. Though, we suspect at the very least we’ll see casters and desk talent on set with teams remaining at home.
Catchup with all the 2020-2021 free agency moves in our handy guide here.
David has written for games media outlets for the last ten years. With his first major esports role being with Esports News UK covering mostly UK League of Legends. David is also a member of the British Esports Association and is an advisor to them on World of Warcraft Esports. More recently David has worked for Esports Insider and Red Bull as an esports journalist.
David later became Editor at ESTNN and now leads the current team.