Editor’s note: As of 2025, the LCS has transitioned into the League of Legends Championship of the Americas (LTA), merging the LCS, LLA, and CBLOL into a unified league. Visit our LTA betting for more info.
LCS betting is arguably one of the top LoL regions. Compared to other regions, the LCS offers many exciting storylines and match-ups. Here’s everything you need to know about LCS betting, including the best betting sites for the LCS, tips, and strategies for safe and smart bets.
Best LCS Betting Sites
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LCS Schedule
| Schedule | Dates |
|---|---|
| LCS Spring 2024 | 20th January - April 2024 |
| LCS Summer 2024 | 15th June - August 2024 |
| LCS Summer Finals | 17th August - 7th September 2024 |
LCS Summer Outright Odds
As one of the most popular LoL regions, a plethore of League of Legends odds and markets are available.
One of the most common odds for rookies and veterans are tournament outright odds. For those unaware, this market involves esports bookmakers ranking teams according to their likelihood of winning.
At the time of writing, LCS Summer Outright Odds are available as follows:
| Team | GG.Bet Outright Odds |
|---|---|
| Cloud9 | +250 |
| Team Liquid | +300 |
| 100 Thieves | +600 |
| Dignitas | +800 |
| NRG Esports | +1200 |
| Shopify Rebellion | +1600 |
| Immortals | +2000 |
| FlyQuest | +4400 |
Odds accessed on 10/06/24 – liable to change.
If you fancy learning more about the esports betting site GG.Bet, check out our GG.Bet review.
See our LCS Power Rankings for a more detailed analysis of the LCS teams.
LCS Format 2024
Regular Season
As in the past few years, the LCS will be played in two splits, each with its own standing. The group stage will be completed in 8 weeks with a different number of matches. At the end of the regular season, the top 6 teams will qualify for the playoffs.
For the LCS Summer 2024, Riot Games revealed a new format as requested by fans. Specifically, a changing the original best-of-one format to a single round-robin best-of-3. With less matches in total, every game is more high stakes which should contribute to better viewership and esports odds.
LCS Playoffs
Also for LCS Summer 2024, the Playoffs format is new too.
To strengthen the competition further, all six teams competing in the Playoffs for the three Worlds 2024 spots are doing so in a new format.
All six teams start off in the Winners Bracket, with the first and second seed earning a bye to the second round of competition. Any losers fall and compete in the gauntlet-style Losers bracket.
Relegation
Founded in 2013, for many years, the LCS used a system where the worst teams in the league had to participate in the promotional LoL tournament. In this system, teams from the lower league could qualify for the main league by performing well.
However, with the 2018 season, Riot Games decided to switch to the franchising system and abolished relegation and started organizing a league with 10 teams as partners.
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With this decision, the lower league ended and was replaced by the Academy System. Since 2018, this system has been improved. That being said, no matter how bad a season teams have, they are not relegated from the LCS.
LCS Champions
Image Credits: LoL Esports
It’s safe to say that the history of the LCS is a long one. In these 10 years, different champions have emerged and different stories have been written.
Their battle has been the headline of the scene for years. Regardless of the names of the players or the status of the teams, the matches between these two renowned organizations have always managed to be one of the most watched matches in LCS history.
Here’s a look at the trophy cabinet for the past few iterations of the LCS:
| Iteration of the LCS | Winner | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2024 | Team Liquid | FlyQuest |
| Summer 2023 | NRG | Cloud9 |
| Spring 2023 | Cloud9 | Golden Guardians |
| Summer 2022 | Cloud9 | 100 Thieves |
| Spring 2022 | Evil Geniuses | 100 Thieves |
| Summer 2021 | 100 Thieves | Team Liquid |
| Spring 2021 | Cloud9 | Team Liquid |
| Summer 2020 | TSM | FlyQuest |
| Spring 2020 | Cloud9 | FlyQuest |
LCS Teams’ Performance at Worlds and MSI
After the professionalization of many League of Legends leagues in 2013, Worlds didn’t go so well for LCS teams. In fact, it’s safe to say that the LCS has had the worst performance among the major leagues.
Despite the introduction of different champions over the years and some teams dominating the league and making it to Worlds, the best the league has achieved in the biggest arena of League of Legends is Cloud9’s semifinal appearance in 2018.
The fact that the LCS spends more money than other leagues but fails on the international stage has long been a topic of discussion for years, but no answer has yet been found. Fortunately, North American teams have been scoring one level better at MSI. Since its inception in 2015, LCS teams have made it to the finals twice and the semifinals once.
Why watch the LCS?
Despite the failures on the global stage, LCS fans remain highly engaged in the league. This creates a community with a lot of interaction and heated debates. On the other hand, the North American professional league has a rich competitive culture, thanks to its long history. Watching such matches is a real pleasure to watch.
To be clear, the best League of Legends is not played in this league. Despite this, the region has been able to produce young players who have been attracting attention and challenging other players worldwide. These young players are also one of the factors that increase the interest of the viewers.
Many of the players in the LCS have a sharp tongue and often share what they have to say on social media. This often leads to drama throughout the league. Some of the rhetoric can turn players against each other and create a new rivalry between them. These dramas, especially in an active community, make the league even more followable.
The Future of the LCS
Moreover, the future of the LCS looks very bright with huge changes coming its way.
As announced by Riot Games in 2024, the 2025 season will feature a merging between the regions of LCS, CBLOL, and LLA, and competition will take place across North and South conferences.
Each region has six partnered teams, with also Guest teams from the Tier 2 system to add up to eight teams per conference.
The competition will feature three splits ahead of the three international events as announced in the future.
