At
the conclusion of the LCK Cup Group Battle, six teams advanced to the Play-In stage: the two lowest-ranked teams from
the victorious Elder Group (DRX and NongShim RedForce) and the top four teams from the defeated Baron Group (T1, Hanwha Life Esports, BRION, and Freecs). Three of these six teams will secure a spot in the playoffs alongside the top three teams from the Elder Group—Dplus, Gen.G, and KT Rolster. Thanks to their performance in the Group Battle, T1 and HLE will bypass the first round.
To qualify, the two-time reigning world champions need to win just one best-of-three series against the winner of NS RedForce vs. BRION. Meanwhile, the reigning LCK champion will face the winner of DRX vs. Freecs. The two teams that lose in this second round will have a final opportunity to reach the playoffs through the "Play-In Finals," which will determine the third and final playoff spot. This decisive match will be the only Play-In series played in a best-of-five format. As a reminder, the entire LCK Cup is played under the Fearless Draft format. Follow the Play-In bracket, which runs from February 7 to 9, in this article.
From that point on, all playoff matches will be best-of-five. Similar to T1 and HLE in the Play-In, Dplus and Gen.G will skip the first round of the playoffs after finishing as the top two teams in the Elder Group—Dplus being the only team to go 5-0 in the Group Battle. Dplus will face the winner of the match between KT and the Play-In Finals victor in the second round, while Gen.G will take on the winner of the matchup between the first two teams to qualify via the Play-In. Only the LCK Cup champion will earn a spot at the year's first international event, the First Stand.
