Following Rogue’s loss in the quarter-finals of the Worlds against JDG a few days ago, a subject came back to the table, that of the LEC format. Indeed, while the LCK and the LPL play in BO3, Europe is still stuck on BO1 throughout the year, preventing the region’s level of play from being raised and catching up with Asia. However, according to Blix.gg, changes could finally arrive in 2023 with an atypical format.
First of all, the most important change is thatwe will now have the right to three Splits in the yearconcluded by a Grand Final in August. As for the format of these three segments, the competition will now start with three weeks of competition in BO1 with three days a week. At the end of these three weeks of competition, the first eight in the standings are qualified for the rest of the Split, while the last two are eliminated.
This is when the LEC format becomes interesting since the eight qualifiers now compete in BO3, in a GSL style, similar to what we have in the promotions of the LFL or in RLCS. To qualify for the next stage, you have to win two matches out of three played maximum. The infographic below should allow you to visualize this competition format.
At the end of this phase of the Split, we will find four teams that will qualify for the LEC playoffs. They will face each other in BO5 in the same format but with four participants to decide the winner of the Split. Finally, the LEC Grand Final, which will be played in August 2023, will bring together the six best teams of the season in a format similar to the Spring Split of the LCS.
All these changes, which are still subject to a reservation since nothing is official, could allow Europe to once again become a serious contender for the world title because the best teams will play many more matches in the year. On the other hand, those who perform the least well will only play nine games per Split. We’ll see how it all goes next year, but it bodes well for Europe’s hopes at future international events.
If you’re still having trouble visualizing this format, this Twitter user summed it up pretty well the typical diagram of an LEC Split in 2023.