League of Legends

At the core of our ecosystem are the regional leagues, the foundation where talent thrives and competition flourishes. In 2025, we will feature five distinct regional leagues, competing in three annual splits - Winter, Spring and Summer.  All regions will compete in a new international tournament, the First Stand Tournament (FST), at the end of the first split of the season. A second split will qualify teams for the Mid-season Invitational (MSI). The third and final split in each region will culminate in a Regional Championship, crowning a season-long champion in each region. This streamlined structure will connect the splits more cohesively, raise the stakes of regular-season matches, and build up to the World Championship (Worlds), our biggest event of the year.

League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK): Based in Seoul, the LCK features ten teams renowned for their high-level gameplay. As with all international leagues, the LCK will operate in three splits, offering an action packed competition to crown the regional champion. Teams qualify for FST, MSI and Worlds through their play off performances.

League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP): Operating from Taiwan, the LCP unites teams from Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao, Japan, and Southeast Asia in an 8-team hybrid partnership model. This structure combines stability with the excitement of promotion and relegation, intensifying competition across the APAC region.

League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC): The LEC, based in Berlin, represents Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Its 10 teams face off in three splits, pursuing the LEC title and qualification for FST, MSI, and Worlds, bringing diverse competition and high-level play to the EMEA region.

League of Legends Pro League (LPL): The LPL, based in Shanghai, China, is a premier esports league featuring intense competition among 17 teams. The season is divided into Winter, Spring, and Summer Splits, with each split ending in a playoff to crown a regional champion. Teams earn berths to FST, MSI and Worlds based on their performance in the playoffs and their accumulated seasonal championship points.

The League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA): Unifying North and South America, the LTA has two 8-team conferences—LTA North in Los Angeles and LTA South in São Paulo. With three annual splits, the LTA’s format celebrates regional rivalries while fostering inter-conference competition, delivering thrilling, high-stakes esports action across the Americas.

First Stand Tournament (FST)

In 2025, a new global tournament will launch at the end of the first split, uniting all regions in Seoul, South Korea. This event will feature innovative formats like Fearless Draft, where champions picked in one game are banned for the remainder of the series. It is set to disrupt traditional drafts and matchups, increasing the variety of champions seen in pro play and pushing teams to adapt their strategies on the fly, making for a more dynamic and unpredictable viewing experience.

Mid-Season Invitational (MSI)

Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is a high-stakes showdown where only the best of the best will emerge. This tournament, which bridges the gap between the spring and summer splits, offers more than just the title and recognition—it’s a critical opportunity for teams and regions to gain an advantage heading into Worlds. 

MSI 2025 will feature 10 teams from five major leagues: the LPL, LCK, LTA, LEC, and LCP. Each of these leagues will send their top two teams to represent their region, ensuring that only the best talent from each corner of the globe will compete.

The road to becoming the MSI Champion will unfold across two stages. The tournament begins with a Play-In Stage, where four of the ten teams will battle it out.   Only the top two teams from this stage will advance, joining six pre-qualified teams in a showdown that will ultimately crown the MSI Champion.

The MSI Champion will earn a guaranteed slot at Worlds, provided they meet the competitive requirement in the summer split set by the regional league. This additional Worlds slot serves as a powerful motivator, allowing the champion team to focus on refining their performance for the year’s ultimate competition. Additionally, the region of the MSI runner-up will also gain an extra slot at Worlds, boosting its representation and giving another team a shot at international glory.

World Championship (Worlds)

The League of Legends World Championship is the pinnacle of LoL Esports. Worlds 2025, hosted in Chengdu, China, will showcase a total of 17 teams competing for the title of world champion. 

Each of the five regions - LCK, LEC, LCP, LPL and, LTA - will be granted three slots, accounting for 15 of the participating teams.  The two remaining slots are awarded based on performance at the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI).  This structure maintains global representation while rewarding top performance, ensuring that the strongest regions and teams are well-represented on the world stage.

A single best-of-five match makes up the Worlds 2025 Play-Ins Stage. The winner joins the other 15 qualified teams in the Swiss Stage. 

The Swiss Stage will feature a five-round, Swiss-style format, in which teams with the same win-loss record will compete against each other until they achieve three wins or three losses. Matches that determine advancement or elimination will be best-of-three, while the others will be best-of-one. 

The Knockout Stage will feature eight teams that qualify from the Swiss Stage. Based on their placement in Swiss, they will be drawn into a best-of-five single elimination bracket. This bracket includes Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals and will determine the 2025 World Champion.

Worlds is the most widely viewed and followed esports tournament and is among the world's largest and most popular gaming and sporting events. With over a decade’s worth of champions, we’re excited for many more years of the best of the best battling it out on the Worlds stage.

Our vibrant Tier 2 ecosystem offers structured competitive environments for amateur and semi-professional players, fostering the next generation of talent. Operating on a global scale, this ecosystem includes regional leagues such as:

• Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends Academy (CBLOLA)

• China’s League of Legends Development League (LDL)

• EMEA Regional Leagues (ERLs)

• League of Legends Champions Korea Challengers League (LCKCL)

• League of Legends Japan League (LJL)

• Liga Regional Norte (LRN)

• Liga Regional Su (LRS)

• North American Challengers League (NACL)

• Pacific Championship Series (PCS); and

• Vietnam Championship Series (VCS)

These leagues serve as localized entry points for aspiring professionals, creating a sustainable pipeline of talent for the future.