The return of competitive play and the widespread adoption of a three-split season have allowed major
League of Legends regions to experiment with different formats. While the LEC maintained the structure implemented in 2023 for its Winter split, the four other main leagues—LTA, LCK, LPL, and LCP—introduced new kinds of stuff. Most leagues have ensured teams a minimum of nine games before elimination, but not the American one, which has emerged as the most unforgiving.
Both LTA North and LTA South follow an identical structure: a double-elimination bracket played in best-of-three (BO3) series, with four teams advancing to the
Cross Conference. This second stage will determine which team secures the single LTA spot at First Stand, the season’s first international event. Among the eight teams competing in each of these leagues, two were therefore eliminated after just two BO3s. In LTA South,
Fluxo W7M, having lost both of its BO3s 0-2,
played only four games in Split 1 before exiting the competition.Minimum amount of games played by teams before their split ends
In LTA North, Disguised and LYON managed to salvage some pride by winning at least one game in the lower bracket before elimination, yet they still concluded Split 1 after just five games. Even teams eliminated in the following round of the lower bracket in these two leagues will have played fewer matches than those in other regions. Dignitas and Shopify Rebellion, eliminated in the second round of the LTAN lower bracket, played seven games in Split 1, compared to eight for FURIA and RED Canids in LTAS.
13 games in LCK
With the LTA format, no team could play more than ten games in the entire domestic split. In LTAN, Cloud9 and 100 Thieves secured their Cross Conference spots in just five games, plus an additional seeding match, while FlyQuest and Team Liquid required eight games to qualify through the lower bracket. Similarly, Isurus, Estral, and Leviatán qualified for the Cross Conference after only six games. LOUD and paIN Gaming were the only teams to reach the full ten-game limit, facing off in the final match of the lower bracket to determine seeding.
A ten-game maximum is only marginally higher than the minimum required for elimination in two other leagues: the LEC and the LPL. The EMEA league begins with a best-of-one (BO1) regular season, where all ten teams compete, with only two eliminated before the playoffs. Rogue and SK Gaming exited after nine games — both were mathematically already out before their last game.
LEC Winter Split Playoffs Bracket. Credit: Sheep Esports
In China, the sixteen LPL teams were divided into four groups of four, playing a best-of-five (BO5) series. Consequently, all teams play at least nine games. Only one of them was eliminated from the Winter Split after just nine games: LGD Gaming. The organization suffered two 0-3 defeats in its three BO5 series and secured a 3-0 victory in the third. Despite this win, LGD placed only third in Group A and was consequently eliminated. The threshold for elimination was set at ten games for four other teams. Team WE lost three times in Group A but managed to claim a win against Anyone’s Legend, just like FunPlus Phoenix in Group D. EDward Gaming and LNG Esports were also eliminated after playing ten games in Group C.
In the LCK Cup, the minimum number of games played before elimination was also ten. During the first phase, the ten teams were divided into two groups of five, facing each opponent from the other group in a best-of-three (BO3) format. However, no team was eliminated without securing at least one win. The only team to be eliminated at this stage, FearX—bottom of the Baron Group—played 13 games (three wins, ten losses), matching or surpassing most teams from the group stage. OKBRION, eliminated later in the play-in stage, played 14 games, while Freecs played 15 and DRX 21.
15 games in the LCP
The league that provides teams with the most opportunities to refine their play is the newly introduced LCP, the first iteration of the combined PCS, LJL, and VCS. For its inaugural season, the APAC league opened with an eight-team best-of-three (BO3) regular season with the Top 6 qualifying for the playoffs. Mathematically, a team losing all of its matches 0-7 would still have played 14 games—more than three times the number Fluxo W7M managed in LTAS. However, that scenario didn't happen as even Chiefs Esports Club, last with a 0-7 record, has claimed one (single) victory. The organization was therefore eliminated after 15 games.
