The LCS (League of Legends Championship Series) has named Mark ‘MarkZ’ Zimmerman as its new Commissioner.
In addition, the North American league also announced it will return to a weekend broadcast schedule for the 2024 season.
As LCS Commissioner, Zimmerman will oversee the top tier of North American League of Legends, focusing on creating experiences for fans, players, and teams. He will report to Carlos Antunes, Head of League of Legends Esports for the Americas, to build a revised operational strategy for the league.
Before becoming LCS Commissioner, Zimmerman was a League of Legends coach and analyst for North American esports organisations Curse and Team Liquid before becoming an on-air talent member for the league in 2016.
Zimmerman, the newly-appointed LCS Commissioner, spoke on the role: “For almost a decade, I have devoted my career to the LCS, and it is with immense honour that I undertake the responsibility of representing the fans, players, teams, and partners in my new position as the Commissioner of the LCS.
“As I step into this new role, I am committed to exploring new and innovative ways to create the best viewing experiences for fans, and inspire our community so that our sport can be celebrated for generations to come.”
In addition to announcing a new Commissioner, Riot Games announced the LCS would be returning to a weekend schedule for the 2024 season which begins on January 20th. Throughout 2023, the league ran regular-season matches across the weekdays, a decision that did cause community backlash.
The return to a weekend schedule follows the LCS’s decision to downsize the league from ten teams to eight. This was due to Evil Geniuses and Golden Guardians leaving the league in November 2023.
After the teams announced their departure, a report from esports journalist Jacob Wolf revealed six of the ten LCS teams chose to hear Riot’s exit proposal, which included $6m (~£4.78m) in cash in addition to the waiving of outstanding franchise fees.
The LCS saw a downward trend in viewership last year. Last season’s LCS Summer Split was the least-popular LCS split in the league’s modern history.
