MarkZ to Have Analyst Desk Role Reduced Amid 2022 LCS Scheduling Shake-Up

With there being plenty of structural changes set to come to the League Championship Series (LCS), Academy, and Amateur format in 2022, it appears many personalities and analysts on the North American broadcast will be shifting into smaller roles or leaving the show altogether.

Among those seemingly caught in the crossfire is analyst Mark "MarkZ" Zimmerman, who explained the changes coming to his role in a YouTube video on Saturday.

"You'll be seeing a lot less of me in the LCS broadcast in 2022," MarkZ said in the video. "It wasn't my decision or my choice and I've been pretty depressed about it since I found out."

According to MarkZ, with the LCS regular season format set to return to an even split between the Spring and Summer Splits consisting of two eight-week double round robins, the broadcast is also going back to two days a week for most of the year.

In 2022, the norm for LCS fans is to expect five games being played every Saturday and Sunday.

As such, MarkZ shared that the LCS analyst desk will have two set roles in terms of everyday on-air talent, with him sharing a rotating third spot with someone else.

"For most weeks of the year," MarkZ said in the video, "I'll be on the broadcast one day a week."

Since the league will also be hosting playoffs and two "LCS Super Weeks" per split, in which five additional games will be played on Fridays, MarkZ added that he will be working a bit more on those long weekends either on the analyst desk or casting games.

Additionally, MarkZ mentioned that he will still be on Riot Games' weekly podcast, The Dive, as well as ramping up his efforts on the third-party content side of things.

"I'm f—king crushed about this honestly," MarkZ said in the video. "For the last six years, I've seen myself as 'the' NA analyst. At least, that's who I wanted to be. I've done everything from collegiate through LCS and everything in between, but the LCS has always been my main focus of my career.

"Azael and I have always joked about how cool it would be 50 years old and still be these old geezers running around in the LCS, but honestly it's hard to still perceive yourself that way when you're only working two days of the week most weeks of the year."

With the LCS Lock In preseason tournament set to get the year started for NA competition on Jan. 14, expect more news from Riot on the broadcast's on-air talent for 2022 soon.