League of Legends Season 3 begins, first Championship Series match on February 7

Riot kicked off the third season of League of Legends' Championship Series today with a special treat for enthusiast summoners: LoL eSports , a new hub site for streaming upcoming matches for free and keeping tabs on team bios, play-by-plays, and the latest standings.

The season lasts for 10 weeks and features the eight best teams from last year's North American and European qualifiers vying for the glory of competing in the World Championship later this year. The North American teams face off on Thursdays starting at 1pm PST and Fridays at 5pm PST, while European matches occur Saturdays and Sundays starting at 18:00 CET.

Riot also released update 3.01 for LoL, which reworks ranked play into the tiered League system (here's a video explanation ), implements a heap of Champion balances, and imbues bots with the ability to "occasionally chat at the beginning and end of games." I suppose Riot figures that computer opponents need a voice so they can mock my laughable MOBA skills.

The official website lists the rest of the lengthy notes . The first North American match begins next Thursday and pits Team SoloMid against Counter Logic Gaming. Head over to LoL eSports for the tournament's full lineup and schedule. And if you aren't yet a part of the wide, wonderful world of eSports, here's why we think you should be .