Mid-Season Showdown is here, and with our celebration of all things competitive, it's time to announce the 3rd annual, State Farm x LCS Cosplay Contest.

This highly competitive cosplay contest is our once a year celebration of the North American Cosplay community. Through passion, artistry, and creativity, they bring our characters to life. By partnering with StateFarm once again, we offer our North American Cosplay Community a premiere contest during LCS finals this August.

During LCS Finals, cosplayers will compete for the grand prize: a round trip ticket to Worlds for them and a friend, and a cash prize of $5,000! In case of International Travel from the US to China not being allowed in 2021, the winner will be able to select an alternative international League of Legends event.

Runners up will receive prizes as well! 2nd place will receive $2,000, with 3rd place being awarded $1,000. Viewers will also be able to vote on social for your favorite finalist. The fan favorite award will win an extra $500.

We’re sure you have a ton of questions on how to submit your cosplays to the State Farm Cosplay Contest! So let’s get into the nitty gritty...

What is the online submission process?

As part of the process, we’ll be asking cosplayers to submit photos and/or videos online prior to LCS Finals via our link at the bottom of this article. This is to allow for the selection of our finalists before the event. As such, we will be opening online submissions on Monday, April 12 2021 at 3:00 PM PT and closing submissions on Friday, August 6 2021 at 11:59 PM PT. Submissions outside of this time period will not be considered in the judging.

From all that enter (and qualify), our judges will select the finalists.

How are finalists selected?

There are tons of amazing ways for people to express themselves in cosplay! However, for this contest, the judges will be issuing scores (between 1 and 10) in the following categories. The top submissions who earn the most points will head to the LCS Finals, and be considered as cosplay finalists!

• Quality & Construction (33%): Show us those amazing details and techniques! How have you raised the bar in terms of craftsmanship in your costume? What are some materials and uses that set your cosplay apart from others?
  
  
• Creativity (33%): How inventive have you been with this build? Every costume comes with its own set of challenges, so let us know how creative you’ve been in solving for those tricky designs and project hiccups.
  
  
• Accuracy (33%): How faithfully does this cosplay represent the champion? We’ll be looking at the accuracy of the costume and presentation to assess the character’s thematic. Please note that an individual’s natural body type and skin tone will not impact the judging or final results.

At the time you enter, please provide photos and/or videos of your cosplay that are unedited, and show the costume on a person. Costumes should be at least 80% completed at the time of submission to allow for judges to get an accurate depiction of your cosplay for pre-judging.

What are the Online Submission Rules?

As with all contests, there are a ton of legal things we need to cover. Read all the official legal rules here.

To make Submissions easier this year, we have created a template, grab it here, to help you get started. Please download the template to use during your submission.

Ready to dive in? Submit your costume here!

Here is a general outline of our submission guidelines:

1. Costumes submitted should be primarily crafted and not purchased. At least 80% of the costume must be made by the person submitting the cosplay to the contest.
   1. If you are using a cosplay model, the creator of the cosplay must be the one entering the contest, and not the model.
   2. 3D printed pieces are allowed, however the original 3D file must have been made by the person submitting to the contest. Files found on free websites such as ThingiVerse count towards the “purchased” percentage of the costume.
2. At the time of submission, at least 80% of your costume must be completed.
3. Costumes submitted cannot have won a Grand Prize or First place at another cosplay contest.
4. Each contestant may only enter one costume into the competition.
5. All who enter must be residents of North America (United States or Canada (excluding Quebec)), and currently living in one of those countries.
6. All who enter must be 18 or older and eligible to travel internationally.
7. All who enter must be able to attend the LCS Finals. If you cannot attend, you will not be considered for any prizes.
   1. In the event if a live audience, finalists will have travel and accommodation provided by State Farm.
8. All contestants must submit a League of Legends related cosplay. Fan concepts are allowed as long as clear reference images are included in the submission.
9. No nudity. No costume is no costume.
10. No political or religious statements please. That includes messages on signs, clothing, or in video submissions. Anyone who violates this will be disqualified from the competition.
11. No profanity allowed. That includes messages on signs, clothing, or in video submissions. Anyone who violates this will be disqualified from the competition.
12. Do not submit heavily photoshopped or edited photos. Photos that appear to be altered will be removed from the competition.
13. The period to submit your cosplay for the contest is Monday, April 12 2021 at 3:00 PM PT and closing submissions on Friday, August 6 2021 at 11:59 PM PT. Submissions outside of that time frame will not be considered.

What if I’m selected as a Finalist?

Finalists will be contacted and announced on Thursday, August 12th at 12PM PT. We will be contacting all finalists via the email they submit with, so keep an eye on your inbox. If we are able to have a live audience for Finals, all Finalists will be flown out to the event to watch live in person.

But wait, I have more questions!?

No worries! We’ve created a Discord to answer those questions, and allow you to connect with your fellow cosplayers and share progress. Please join us here: https://discord.gg/ZKACt7H

Ready to dive in? Submit your costume HERE

We cannot wait to see what you create!