The LPL is the first major league to kick off with Split 2, starting on Saturday, March 22nd.
The format for this split is divided into four phases, with the group stage being the first, starting this week. There will be six BO1 matches every day, with the top two teams advancing to Group Ascend. The teams finishing last will drop to Group Nirvana, while the third-place teams will compete in a promotion series for two spots in Ascend.
The remaining four days of the group stage will be held in Suzhou, likely at the Yangcheng International Esports Center,
LNG Esports' venue. The schedule will proceed as follows:
The 3rd place team in each group will compete in a promotion series for two spots in Group Ascend. The first round will be a BO1, followed by BO3s in a double-elimination format. The two teams that fail to advance will move to Group Nirvana.
In Split 1,
Top Esports won the trophy and qualified for the First Stand to represent China. However, their performance was underwhelming, as they only
won one BO in the group stage before being
eliminated 3-0 by the future champions,
Hanwha Life Esports. Split 2 will qualify both the winner and the runner-up for MSI in Vancouver (Canada), taking place from June 27 to July 12, as well as the Esports World Cup, just four days later, from July 16 to July 20.
