New Format for LEC 2025

New Year, New Format for the LEC 2025

The LEC is revamping its competition format for 2025, though the Winter Split will maintain its current BO1 structure, with the top eight teams advancing to the playoffs. A notable change in these playoffs will be the introduction of a Fearless Draft: in the first game, teams will draft as usual, but from the second game onward, teams cannot use champions previously played in earlier games (e.g., in Game 2, champions from Game 1 are unavailable, and in Game 3, champions from Games 1 and 2 are restricted). Initial bans will still apply. The top team will qualify for a new international tournament.

Bigger changes come with the Spring Split, which will now span seven weeks of regular season play, with each team competing in nine BO3 series. The top six teams will advance to the playoffs, which will feature the standard BO5 format, without the Fearless Draft. The two finalists of the Spring Split will qualify for MSI 2025, with the champion taking home the trophy. This marks the end of BO1 matches for the Spring Split.

In the Summer Split, the ten LEC teams will be divided into two groups of five, with each team playing four BO3 series. The top two teams from each group will move directly to the playoffs, while the last-placed team in each group will be eliminated. The third- and fourth-placed teams from each group will then cross over to play two additional matches: the third-place team from Group A will face the fourth-place team from Group B, and vice versa. The Summer Split playoffs will conclude with a BO5 final, closing out the 2025 LEC season. The location for the final will be announced early next year, and the top three teams from the Summer Split will qualify for Worlds.