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ESPN becomes the official broadcast home for League of Legends’ Spring Split Playoffs

ESPN becomes the official broadcast home for League of Legends’ Spring Split Playoffs

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Five games will air on the network

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2019 League of Legends World Championships
Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games Inc. via Getty Images

League of Legends’ 2020 Championship Series (LCS) Spring Split Playoffs have a new home in the United States: ESPN.

The network announced today that five matches with air on ESPN2, the secondary network ESPN uses for much of its esports coverage, and through the ESPN app. Those matches will also be made available to replay directly after the games end within the ESPN app. The first match of the championship series will pit 100 Thieves against TSM on Wednesday, April 8th, at 4PM ET.

“We’re excited to work with Riot Games to create innovative content opportunities around this amazing franchise system,” said John Lasker, vice president of digital programming at ESPN. “Showcasing one of the most popular esports in the world with the LCS’ Spring Split playoffs allows ESPN to serve new audiences.”

The Spring Split Playoffs is one of the biggest League of Legends competitions of the year so far, and it will see the winner go on to represent North America at the 2020 Mid-Season Invitational in July. While matches will still stream 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 taken a large hit over the last few weeks as every major sports league has suspended their seasons as people around the world social distance to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The full schedule for League of Legends’s spring tournament can be seen below.

100 Thieves vs. TSM: April 8th, 4PM ET

Evil Geniuses vs. Cloud9: April 11th, 4PM ET

Flyquest vs. Winner Match 4: April 12th, 4PM ET

Third Place Match Up: April 18th, 4PM ET

LCS Spring Split Championship: April 19th, 4PM ET