LoL - LPL: Format changes for Split 2

This Thursday, the LPL announced on their Weibo account a format change for the second split of the 2025 Chinese League of Legends League. Like the other leagues, they will also adopt the fearless draft. The winner and runner-up will represent China at MSI in Vancouver. Split 2 will be divided into 4 stages: Group Stage, Rumble Stage, Knight's Rivals, and Knockout Stage.

Teams are divided into four groups based on their final results from Split 1. Each group will play a single round-robin format. After the BO1 round-robin matches, the top two teams from each group will move to Group Ascend, while the 4th place team will join Group Nirvana. The 3rd place teams in each group will compete in a promotion bracket, fighting for two spots in Group Ascend. The first round will be BO1, with the rest being BO3 in a double-elimination format. The bottom two teams that fail to advance will move to Group Nirvana.

Sixteen teams will participate, with ten teams in Group Ascend and six in Group Nirvana. Group Ascend will play a double round-robin format, while Group Nirvana will have a single round-robin. All matches will be best of three. The top four teams from Group Ascend will directly qualify for the Knockout Bracket Stage, while the bottom six teams from Group Ascend and the top two teams from Group Nirvana will qualify for the Knights Rival. The bottom two teams from Group Nirvana will be eliminated from the LPL 2025 and will not participate in Split 3.

Bottom six teams in Group Ascend and top two in Group Nirvana will play one Best-Of-five game each, based on their standing. The four winning teams qualify for the Knockout Stage while the split ends for the losing ones.

Elimination Stage will feature eight teams and follow a classic double elimination BO5 format. In Round 1, the top four teams from Group Ascend will choose their opponents based on their standings. This stage will determine the LPL champion and the two representatives for MSI, with the final taking place on June 14.

The third split remains unchanged and will follow the previously defined format. It will be played with 14 teams, meaning two teams will end their year in May. This is a very punishing format, as finishing last in a split will prevent teams from participating in the following split.