The summer season of the League of Legends Master Series, consisting of eight teams from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, is in full swing.
The LMS is one of the most top-heavy regions in competitive League, with the Flash Wolves having won five straight championships. They’ll look to defend their title from the likes of MAD Team and Hong Kong Attitude, while veteran team AHQ and spring split runner-up G-Rex have fallen from grace.
The LMS is not as popular in the Western scene, so when international tournaments roll around, most viewers have no idea how the region’s representatives will stack up. We’ve compiled a viewer guide to the LMS to prepare you for the upcoming World Championships.
Stream
Unlike the North American or European LCS, the LMS is not streamed on Twitch and is instead broadcast on Live Garena.
Teams
The League Master Series features eight of the best teams from the East Asia region. Unlike the NA LCS, promotion and relegation do exist. At the end of each split, the team with the worst record in the LMS plays a best of five against the best team in the ECS that split, the region’s version of the Challenger series. Previously, the bottom two teams in the LMS faced off against the top two from the ECS.
Here are the teams currently in the League Master Series.
- Flash Wolves
- MAD Team
- J Team
- Hong Kong Attitude
- Team Afro
- ahq e-Sports Club
- Machi Esports
- G-Rex
Schedule
The LMS runs for eight weeks, beginning Saturday, June 23. Eight games are played each week, with two each day from Thursdays to Sundays. Matches begin around 3am CT each day, with the playoffs beginning in late August.
Saturday, June 23
3am CT: Machi Esports vs. MAD Team
6am CT: ahq e-Sports Club vs. Flash Wolves
Sunday, June 24
3am CT: Team Afro vs. J Team
6am CT: Hong Kong Attitude vs. G-Rex
Thursday, June 28
3am CT: Flash Wolves vs. Machi Esports
6am CT: ahq e-Sports Club vs. Hong Kong Attitude
Friday, June 29
3am CT: Team Afro vs. Flash Wolves
6am CT: MAD Team vs. G-Rex
Saturday, June 30
3am CT: Machi Esports vs. Team Afro
6am CT: J Team vs. MAD Team
Sunday, July 1
3am CT: Hong Kong Attitude vs. J Team
6am CT: G-Rex vs. ahq e-Sports Club
Thursday, July 12
3am CT: ahq e-Sports Club vs. Machi Esports
6am CT: J Team vs. Flash Wolves
Friday, July 13
3am CT: Flash Wolves vs. G-Rex
6am CT: Hong Kong Attitude vs. Team Afro
Saturday, July 14
3am CT: MAD Team vs. ahq e-Sports Club
6am CT: Machi Esports vs. Hong Kong Attitude
Sunday, July 15
3am CT: MAD Team vs. Team Afro
6am CT: G-Rex vs. J Team
Thursday, July 19
3am CT: J Team vs. ahq e-Sports Club
6am CT: G-Rex vs. Machi Esports
Friday, July 20
3am CT: MAD Team vs. Hong Kong Attitude
6am CT: Team Afro vs. ahq e-Sports Club
Saturday, July 21
3am CT: Flash Wolves vs. Hong Kong Attitude
6am CT: Machi Esports vs. J Team
Sunday, July 22
3am CT: Team Afro vs. G-Rex
6am CT: Flash Wolves vs. MAD Team
Thursday, July 26
3am CT: Team Afro vs. MAD Team
6am CT: Hong Kong Attitude vs. Flash Wolves
Friday, July 27
3am CT: Machi Esports vs. G-Rex
6am CT: ahq e-Sports Club vs. J Team
Saturday, July 28
3am CT: J Team vs. G-Rex
6am CT: MAD Team vs. Flash Wolves
Sunday, July 29
3am CT: Hong Kong Attitude vs. ahq e-Sports Club
6am CT: Team Afro vs. Machi Esports
Thursday, August 2
3am CT: G-Rex vs. Team Afro
6am CT: J Team vs. Hong Kong Attitude
Friday, August 3
3am CT: MAD Team vs. Machi Esports
6am CT: Flash Wolves vs. ahq e-Sports Club
Saturday, August 4
3am CT: Flash Wolves vs. Team Afro
6am CT: G-Rex vs. Hong Kong Attitude
Sunday, August 5
3am CT: MAD Team vs. J Team
6am CT: Machi Esports vs. ahq e-Sports Club
Thursday, August 9
3am CT: Team Afro vs. Hong Kong Attitude
6am CT: G-Rex vs. MAD Team
Friday, August 10
3am CT: J Team vs. Machi Esports
6am CT: ahq e-Sports Club vs. Team Afro
Saturday, August 11
3am CT: Hong Kong Attitude vs. MAD Team
6am CT: Machi Esports vs. Flash Wolves
Sunday, August 12
3am CT: Flash Wolves vs. J Team
6am CT: ahq e-Sports Club vs. G-Rex
Thursday, August 16
3am CT: J Team vs. Team Afro
6am CT: Hong Kong Attitude vs. Machi Esports
Friday, August 17
3am CT: ahq e-Sports Club vs. MAD Team
6am CT: G-Rex vs. Flash Wolves
System
Participants play in best of threes in a double round robin format, meaning each team plays each other two times each season. At the end of the split, the top four teams advance to the playoffs, where they are seeded by record.
The bottom two seeds compete in the first round, with the winner advancing to face the second seed. The winner of the semifinal round faces the number one seed team in the finals. All matches in the playoffs are best of five series.
This format is much different from the NA and EU LCS playoffs, which use a more traditional playoff seeding format in which the top regular season teams are seeded directly into the second round. In the LMS, however, a great regular season run nets teams a greater advantage than it would in the LCS, potentially skipping straight to the finals. This format is similar to that used in the Korean LCK.
The Flash Wolves have run roughshod over the region for years, and they’ll look to continue their streak of dominance once again this split.
