The LCS Expansion Tournament: What You Need to Know

From November 15 to December 21, the LCS Expansion Tournament will be held to increase the number of teams in the LCS from 8 to 10. Fourteen amateur teams will compete for the two remaining spots in the LCS. These teams will be chosen from the Promotion Tournament, Challenger Series Tournament, and the Ranked 5’s ladder. The top two teams in the tournament will secure their spot in the LCS. Teams from the Promotion Tournament and Challenger Series Tournament will automatically qualify for the Expansion Tournament if they have 3/5 players from the previous tournaments. The remaining spots will be filled by the top teams in the Ranked 5’s ladder. Previous Promotion and Challenger Series teams that don’t meet the 3/5 rule will have to rank high in the Ranked 5’s ladder to qualify.

Analysis of the NA LCS Expansion Teams

Curse Academy

Top: Hauntzer

Jungle: Saintvicious

Mid: Keane

ADC: Cop

Support: Bunny FuFuu

Analysis: Curse Academy is one of the favorites to make it into the LCS. They performed well against Counter Logic Gaming during the promotion tournament, forcing a five-game set. With the addition of Cop as ADC and Hauntzer as Top laner, Curse Academy’s bot lane is strong and can cause trouble for other teams. Hauntzer is a solid improvement over Cris, and overall, Curse Academy has the potential to compete with other teams in the tournament.

compLexity.Black

Top: I KeNNy u

Jungle: Xmithie

Mid: PR0LLY

ADC: ROBERTxLEE

Support: Bubbadub

Analysis: compLexity.Black has made changes in the Top lane and Jungle with I KeNNy u and Xmithie joining the team. I KeNNy u has consistently performed well in Challenger and can be an improvement over their previous Top laner. Xmithie, despite a decline in performance, can still be a valuable asset to the team if he puts in the effort. The bot lane of ROBERTxLEE and Bubbadub has great synergy, making them one of the top bot lanes in the tournament. However, the success of compLexity.Black will rely on the performance of PR0LLY in the Mid lane and the synergy between Xmithie and PR0LLY.

NA Expansion Tournament Bracket

Predictions for Round 1

Zenith Esports vs Final 5 

Winner: Zenith Esports

compLexity.White vs Monstar Kittenz

Winner: compLexity.White

Team Coast  vs Call Gaming

Winner: Team Coast

Team LoL Pro vs Fission Esports

Winner: Team LoL Pro

Enemy Esports vs Noble Truth

Winner: Enemy Esports

Team Fusion vs Dank Dang Gaming 

Winner: Team Fusion

Final Words

More in-depth analysis will be provided for Round 2 teams in the tournament. As some teams are relatively unknown, it would be difficult to analyze them at this stage. Feedback is appreciated as this is my first written piece on the League of Legends Esports scene. Stay tuned for more updates!