First, I'd like to begin with a small note to everyone reading. I have finally made Platinum rank in League of Legends and can now die happy. Whenever that day comes, of course (hopefully in 60+ years *knocks on wood*.) Onto today's subject, I wanted to do a little theory crafting to find the system of playoffs that best fits the LCS. So I'm gonna... right here, on my blog.
The key here is to try and find the paradigm for airing League of Legends playoff matches that will not only receive the greatest amount of revenue, but also enjoy realistic expectations of players, teams and sports venues. Certainly, the most important factor for how and when big sports like the NFL and MLB broadcast their respective games is revenue. It's the reason we see the Super Bowl lasting a whopping four hours, when most NFL games only last a little only three. Similarly, it is the reason MLB commissioner, Rob Manfred, is considering adding a 20-second pitching shot clock in order to cut down game time. So why is it that when TL completed their reverse sweep of TSM it took a whopping 5 hours and 20 minutes long. Of course, there are many reasons for this result. None of which are completely impractical and strike me as heinous or wrong but let's list them anyways. Each game takes about 30 minutes which already makes up about half of the show's run time. Then throw in 5 minutes on either end of the game to cover pre-game discussion and post-game analysis. A filler 4+ minute musical break after the post-game analysis but before the pre-game discussion adds even more run time. Finally, the opening show and closing ceremony leads us to our grand total.
The question in my mind is... can this be a practical for mainstream tv or will people simply not be able to sit through an entire best-of-five (Bo5) finals without already being a diehard League of Legends fan? And if this isn't the best system for playoffs, what is?
To answer these questions I think it is important to first compare League to the traditional sport it is most similar, Basketball. Basketball and League are similar because they both hold playoffs not in a winner takes all, single match format, but rather in a series where teams battle in out in grueling Bo7 matchup. Sure, the MLB and NHL both similarly hold Bo7's for their playoffs, but I recently read a scholarly article that states the NBA and LCS have similar requirements for lighting and equipment. This way if anyone in the Staples Center crew reads my blog they can appreciate the link. Also I know more about the NBA so I'll stick with that for now.
With that said, I think we can all agree League shouldn't be decided by one game as the better team, on any given day, can make plenty of mistakes between champion select and the destroying of a nexus. Furthermore, best of one's offer the viewer close to a maximum of 60 minutes in terms of actual gameplay and wheres the fun in that? So with the understanding that multi-game series are probably the way to go, is an entire Bo5 on a single day the best way to broadcast League of Legends playoffs? Basketball, in contrast, plays their Bo7 series over 7 different days. While there are certainly many reason they do this, above all is the fact that fatigue limits players. One constraint League of Legends producers and players, do not necessarily have limiting them. But does this mean we need to just get it all over with over the course of a single day? The way I see it people constantly want more entertainment, but in shorter, small pockets of time. This is why Netflix is thriving, while Blockbuster is down to its last remaining store. So does grinding out an entire Bo5 series make the most sense? And sure, while all the games VODs are up on lolesports.com immediately after it ends -- who is really going to go back and rewatch games after they know the result? Not me.
"Billy it sounds like you're going to propose something... so can you just get to the damn point?"
I thought you'd never ask inner mind.What I suggest is splitting the Bo5 into 3 parts. Holding games 1 and 2 on Friday, games 3 and 4 on Saturday, and game 5 on Sunday. Of course, this is all based on the results and in some cases the series will end 3-0 after the first game on Saturday. However, at least this way you spread that Bo5 over two days. There are a few key points I would like to make in defending this proposal. First, it makes more sense than splitting each game into a separate day as renting out a venue or even setting up your own already purchased venue for just one hours worth of broadcast just simply isn't worth it. Second, can you imagine the hype leaving game 4 knowing everyone has to come back the next day for a final game. Third, this allows for more entertainment in the form of talk shows or musical guests to be shown before and after the broadcast as the entire show may only last a couple of hours on any given Friday and Saturday, while taking even less time on Sunday. Fourth, it enhances the role of the coach tenfold as they get more time in between games to plan out their pick/ban strategies and attack any holes they can point out in the enemy team's strategy.
So that's my grand plan. Let me know what you think and if you have any better ideas!
As always see you later,
Billy Von Arx
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