The LEC Versus regular season ended on Sunday, January 8, with the full list of playoff and eliminated teams now confirmed. Out of twelve participants, only the top eight advance, with Karmine Corp, Natus Vincere and GIANTX already secured before the final week. The other teams moving on are KC, NAVI, Team Vitality, Team Heretics,
Movistar KOI, G2 Esports and Fnatic, while Shifters,
Los Ratones, SK Gaming and Karmine Corp Blue are eliminated.
Seed one, KC, and seed two, NAVI, were placed on opposite sides of the bracket. The referees then drew seeds three through eight to fill the remaining spots, and KC and NAVI were given the choice of which opponents they would face within their respective halves of the bracket. Karmine Corp chose to face GX, while NAVI selected Fnatic, which automatically set the remaining matchups: TH versus G2 and VIT against MKOI.
Road to Barcelona
The LEC playoffs will begin on Monday, February 16, featuring a double-elimination bracket with Rounds 1 and 2 in best-of-three and the rest in best-of-five. Additionally, the final three days of the competition, including the Upper and Lower Brackets as well as the Grand Final,
will take place in Barcelona from February 27 to March 1, marking the first road trip of the year.
On the first day, Monday, NAVI will face Fnatic, followed by Vitality against KOI. The next day, Heretics will take on G2, and KC will play GX. At stake is a spot at the
First Stand in São Paulo, Brazil, from March 16 to 22, which will feature two teams from the LCK, two from the LPL, and one each from the LEC, LCS, CBLOL, and LCP.
Last year’s Winter Split was won by Karmine Corp, and today, they are likely favorites to qualify for their second First Stand ever. KC clearly showed the strongest form during the regular season, finishing alone at the top with an 8-3 record. They are closely followed by Vitality and NAVI, two strong teams but with far less experience in the LEC’s final playoff stages.
