The LPL has announced the schedule for Split 3, which will kick off on July 19—just one day before the Esports World Cup wraps up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It’s a packed calendar for the LPL teams, who are already competing at the Mid-Season Invitational in Vancouver, Canada. Anyone's Legend are still in contention and will face T1 in the Lower Bracket Final on Friday for a shot at reaching the grand final against Gen.G.

LPL Split 3 resumes on July 19 with 14 participating teams—down from 16, as Oh My God and Royal Never Give Up will skip the Summer Split to compete in the LDL. The format remains the same as in Split 2, with teams divided into two groups: Ascend and Nirvana. Opening day will feature EDward Gaming vs. Ultra Prime, followed by Weibo Gaming vs. FunPlus Phoenix, and finally Top Esports vs. Invictus Gaming. The two teams representing the LPL at both MSI and the Esports World Cup, Anyone’s Legend and Bilibili Gaming, will return to action on July 26 in a high-stakes best-of-three against each other.

The format for LPL Split 3

The LPL regular season will conclude on August 27. The top four teams from the Ascend Group will advance directly to the playoffs, while the bottom four from Ascend and the top four from Nirvana will face off in knockout best-of-five series during the Knight's Rival Phase to determine who joins them. Additionally, side selection for 1v1s has been removed—now determined by a coin flip—and the entire phase will be played as a double round-robin in best-of-three format, replacing the initially planned single round-robin best-of-five structure.

These overloaded schedules raise serious concerns about the pace players are expected to maintain and the demanding travel involved. From Beijing or Seoul to Vancouver for MSI, then to Riyadh for the Esports World Cup, and back to Asia for regional leagues—all in an extremely short span. Players are constantly switching time zones and locations with barely any time to rest or adapt. Yet, very little attention is given to their mental and physical well-being in the midst of it all.