Riot Games on Monday announced some of the details of how their next major championship will unfold, and the Season 3 Championship Series promises to be the biggest and most exciting yet for fans and players alike.

The Season 3 Championship Series, which will kick off shortly after Season 2's World Champion is crowned in October, will bring a structured season format to replace the Challenger Circuit series which Season 2 used, though that format will also live on independently, with many standalone tournaments still being run by Riot's partners (including MLG, IPL, and ESL).

Each week, qualified (and salaried) teams will battle against each other in matches that will be streamed live in HD for the many fans eager to watch the best players in action. Broadcasting will be accomplished in conjunction with Riot's new partner Reality Check Systems, a production company which has specialized in broadcasting live events.

These matches will take place at battle arenas, which Riot is planning to build throughout the world for their live events to take place in, and be broadcast from. One of these will be in Los Angeles, and explains why some top teams (including Team Solomid) have announced their intentions of moving to the city. This format will help cut down on the travel schedules of the top teams, which was a major consideration of Riot's when developing Season 3's format.

The top teams from the season will advance to the regional playoffs, and from there, on to a massive World Championship. While exact prize figures for the season haven't yet been announced, Riot Games' CEO Brandon Beck stated in an interview with Forbes that they would exceed the $5 million prize pool from Season 2.

League of Legends is currently the most played online game in the world, with more than 30 million users logging more than 1.2 billion hours in the game from July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2012. It is also one of the premier e-sports games in the world, alongside Starcraft 2, Counterstrike, and Call of Duty. Tuesday saw the release of Diana, Scorn of the Moon, the 102nd champion to join the League.

Are you excited about the new format for LoL's Season 3? What if anything would you like to see them change about it? Who's your favorite champion at the moment? Share your thoughts on all things LoL in the comments.