LoL: Everything you have to know about LPL Split 3

LPL Split 3 is set to resume on July 19, just one day before the end of the Esports World Cup, where Anyone’s Legend and Bilibili Gaming are competing. Both LPL representatives also took part in Mid-Season Invitational 2025, finishing 3rd and 4th—a disappointing result for the region, which was once again outperformed by LCK teams, T1 and Gen.G.

LPL Split 3 will follow the same format as Split 2 with a few changes. First, side selection will no longer be decided through a 1v1, but instead via predefined rules or a coin flip. A major change as well: the Summer Split will feature only 14 teams instead of 16, with Royal Never Give Up and Oh My God, who finished last in Split 2, being relegated to the LDL, China’s academy league.

As in the Spring Split, the 14 teams will be divided into two groups based on their results from the previous split. The Ascend Group will feature China’s top eight teams: Anyone’s Legend, Bilibili Gaming, FunPlus Phoenix, Invictus Gaming, JD Gaming, Team WE, Top Esports, and Weibo Gaming. The Nirvana Group will include EDward Gaming, LGD Gaming, LNG Esports, Ninjas in Pyjamas, ThunderTalk Gaming, and Ultra Prime.

The groups will be played in a double round-robin BO3 format instead of the originally planned single round-robin BO5. The top 4 teams from Group Ascend will directly qualify for the Grand Finals Bracket Stage, while the bottom 4 from Group Ascend and the top 4 from Group Nirvana will enter the Grand Finals Play-In.

The Play-In will follow the same format as the Knight’s Rival stage from Split 2: eight teams playing in single-elimination BO5s to qualify for the Bracket Stage. The Bracket Stage itself will be a Double Elimination Bracket, where the top 4 teams from Group Ascend choose their Round 1 opponents from the Play-In winners, based on seeding. All matches in the Bracket Stage will be played as BO5s.

The winner of the LPL Split 3 will secure a direct spot at the 2025 World Championship, which will take place in China for the first time since 2020. To determine the remaining three representatives, the LPL will rely on Championship Points: the team with the second-highest point total will also qualify directly for Worlds. For context, the LPL will have four representatives at the 2025 World Championship thanks to their performance at the Mid-Season Invitational, where they were the second-best region overall.

Teams ranked third to sixth in Championship Points will enter the Regional Finals, which will follow a single-elimination King of the Hill format, with seeding based on Championship Points. The winner of the Regional Finals will qualify for the Worlds Main Stage, while the runner-up will head to the Worlds Play-In, where they’ll face the LCK's 4th seed.

The LPL's schedule will be packed, with matches every single day from July 19 to August 27. The split will open with Group Nirvana as Ultra Prime face EDward Gaming at 9 AM CET, followed by Weibo Gaming vs. FunPlus Phoenix, and the day will conclude with Invictus Gaming taking on Top Esports. BLG and AL, the two teams that represented the LPL at both MSI and the EWC, will return to action on the 26th with a head-to-head matchup.