Format changes shake up League of Legends pro scene in Europe and Korea

A huge shakeup is coming to the League of Legends esports scene in two major regions for Season 2023.

Both the League of Legends Korea Championship (LCK) and the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) announced these changes on Friday (18 November).

The European League will be merging with three other minor Leagues in 2023 — the Turkish Championship League (TCL), the LoL Continental League (LCL), and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

This is to build a "single and united competitive region" as the League of Legends EMEA Championship (still the LEC).

The new LEC format will feature shorter splits within the season, with more best-of-fives and introducing best-of-threes into the splits.

The new format will include the Winter, Spring, and Summer Splits and the Season Finals, with each split featuring three different stages.

The first stage will feature ten teams with a best-of-one single round-robin format. The next three weeks will be interspersed with best-of-three and best-of-five matchups.

In the second stage, the top eight teams from the first stage will move on to the group stage, where they’ll be divided into two groups and will compete in a double-elimination best-of-three format.

The top four of each group will advance to the playoffs, where they will compete in best-of-fives in a bid for the split championship title.

The top six teams with the most championship points will compete in the third stage at the LEC Season Finals to become the overall LEC Champion and for a spot at Worlds.

On top of that, there will be 13 EMEA Regional Leagues next year, where they will compete for the EMEA Masters.

For more information, you may check out the LoL EMEA website. Riot has promised to hash out more details on the new format before the new season kicks off.

LCK to now have double-elimination playoffs, integrated rosters

The LCK will also undergo huge changes in their league for next season.

While they aren’t expanding borders like the LEC, both the LCK and the LCK Challengers League will now be integrated into one league, and each team will be allowed 11-20 players on their roster.

LCK Challengers will now match the LCK format, with the regular split featuring double round-robin, best-of-threes and the Playoffs featuring the top 6 teams of the split in a double-elimination, best-of-five format.

Fans of the LCK will be pleased to know that the Playoffs will now feature a double-elimination, best-of-five format, allowing for lower-bracket runs to take place before the grand finals.

This will make room for comebacks and much-anticipated Cinderella runs in 2023, while also preventing top teams from getting eliminated early from upset losses in the playoffs.

The Playoffs will feature five series instead of three, with the top and second-place teams from the regular season automatically advancing into the second round.

The two teams that lose a series in the second round will have a second chance in the new lower bracket.

Then, the series winner will advance to play the upper bracket's third-round series loser. More details about the new format will be revealed by the LCK before the start of Season 2023.

These changes to both regions will give more opportunities for teams to scrim and improve their skills and make them more competitive for the World stage, all while giving fans more excitement in the coming seasons.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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