The Ligue française de
League of Legends (LFL)
is introducing several new features this year as part of the Flash In, the first of the season's three splits. Following a group stage condensed into two weeks, the league has implemented a Swiss Stage
featuring the top eight teams. This phase is played entirely in BO3 format with Hard Fearless Draft, meaning that once a champion has been picked by a team, it cannot be used again for the remainder of the series for both teams. Two wins secure a spot in the playoffs, while two losses result in elimination.
In the first round, matchups have been determined based on the group stage standings. The top seed from Group A, Vitality.Bee, faces the fourth-placed team from Group B, newly promoted Ici Japon Corp. Conversely, Group B's leader, BK ROG, takes on the league's other newcomer, Joblife. Similarly, the second-placed team from each group will play the third-placed team from the opposite group. The other two opening-round matchups therefore see Gentle Mates go up against Solary and Galions take on Karmine Corp Blue. In subsequent rounds, teams with the same record will be drawn against each other at random, with rematches possible. Follow the progression of the Swiss Stage in this article.
After that, the two teams that qualify for the playoffs with a 2-0 record will meet in the upper bracket final. The winner will secure the first spot in the grand final, while the loser will drop into the lower bracket. The teams advancing with a 2-1 record will face off in the first round of this lower bracket, with the winner moving on to challenge the upper bracket final's loser for the second grand final slot. All playoff matches will be played in BO5 format, this time with a soft Fearless Draft: only the team that has already picked a champion will be unable to select it again.
Two EMEA Masters spots
The two finalists
will also earn qualification for the first EMEA Masters (EM) of the year. The LFL is one of three ERLs—alongside Spain’s Superliga and Germany’s Prime League—to receive two spots in this edition of the EM, thanks to the strong performances of LFL teams in recent years. The final of the last EM, held in Munich, was an all-LFL affair between BDS Academy and Vitality.Bee, with the Swiss organization taking the title by winning 3-1. The previous summer, Karmine Corp claimed the EM Summer 2023 trophy in front of a home crowd in Montpellier.
Header Photo Credit: Elliot Le Corre/LFL/Webedia
