LoL: No more 1v1s for side selection and a switch to BO3s — big changes for the LPL this Split 3

For Split 3, the LPL announced on Monday a few changes on their Weibo account. First, the regular season will no longer follow a single round robin BO5 format but will instead shift to a double round robin BO3. The Chinese league is continuing the trend set during Split 2, which also used a best-of-three format. The 14 participating teams (not 16, as Oh My God and Royal Never Give Up won’t compete this split but will play in the LDL instead) are divided into two groups: Ascend (eight teams) and Nirvana (six teams).

The top four teams from the Ascend group will qualify directly for the Grand Finals Bracket Stage. Meanwhile, the bottom teams from Ascend and the top four teams from Nirvana will go through the Play-In. The Grand Finals will begin with this Play-In phase, made up of four BO5 elimination series, and will then move into a Double Elimination Bracket to determine the final standings.

Additionally, the side selection 1v1 solo match has been removed. Instead, side selection for Game 1 of regular season matches will be determined by a coin flip. The winner will choose the side for the first game, while the loser will choose for the second. In the Play-In, side selection will be granted to the Group Ascend teams, the top 4 seeds in Round 1, and the upper bracket finalist in the Grand Finals. All other playoff matches will have Game 1 side selection decided by a coin flip. For Game 5s, side selection will go to the loser of Game 4.

Side selection through 1v1s in the first two LPL splits was generally well-received by the community. It brought a breath of fresh air to the broadcast, breaking away from standard pre-game routines, and added a sense of fairness to drafts and best-of series—especially given how blue side tends to have a higher win rate than red side.

But the matchups weren’t always engaging to watch. Many of the 1v1s ended up being mirror matchups—Corki, Renekton, Varus, Jayce—focused on CS leads or turret rather than kills. While there were a few standout duels, like Cui "Shanks" Xiao-Jun vs. Chen "Bin" Ze-Bin’s Irelia vs. Jayce during Split 2 playoffs, and mirror matchups on Lee Sin or Zed, the 1v1 meta largely revolved around a small pool of champions.