League of Legends news » LCS Playoffs and Regional Qualifiers cheat sheet
Playoffs are right around the corner, and LCS teams are prepping to make a run at the top spot in their regions. They've got a long road ahead of them, filled with trials, tribulations, and Baron throws.
Will Fnatic ever lose a game? Will TSM find their groove again in the Playoffs? Can Unicorns of Love inject some chaos into the Playoffs and play the spoiler? Will CLG play the choke artists, or finally find their Worlds destiny? To quote us from a couple years ago, who will rise?
There are three ways that LCS teams can qualify for Worlds: a first place finish in the Summer Playoffs, having the most Championship points, and qualifying through the Regional Qualifier gauntlet. With the Playoffs kicking off on August 8, it's a good time to go over what the format means for all the teams.
The Playoffs
The Playoffs format is pretty simple. The top six teams from the Regular Season head into a three round bracket, where they'll duke it out in a series of Best of 5 matches. Teams who finished 3rd through 6th compete in a Quarterfinal round, while 1st and 2nd get a bye into the Semifinals. Winners of the Semifinals will not only punch their tickets to Madison Square Garden (if they're from North America) or Stockholm (if they're from Europe), but also play for the top seed from their regions at Worlds.
The winner of the Finals will head straight to Worlds, while the other teams will net Championship Points based on where they finish. We'll get to those in a second.
Here's what the NA bracket looks like right now:
And here's the EU bracket:
Remember that whoever wins their Regional Playoff will automatically qualify to be the first seed out of their region. But, fortunately for teams that don't manage to get to the top of the brackets, there are two more ways to punch a ticket to Worlds.
Championship points
Let's talk about Championship Points.
For any team that doesn't qualify for Worlds through a 1st place finish in the Summer Playoffs, the next option is to get in by finishing the Season with the most Points. Teams are awarded Championship Points based on where they finish in both the Spring and Summer Split Playoffs.
The team that has the most Points (assuming they didn't automatically qualify during the Summer Split Playoffs) earns the second spot at Worlds. You can read more about how Championship Points work right here.
Let's take a look at the Points of teams that still have a shot at making Worlds.
Here are the Championship Points the NA LCS Playoff teams earned in the Spring Split:
- Team SoloMid - 90 Points
- Cloud9 - 70 Points
- Team Liquid - 50 Points
- Team Impulse - 30 Points
- Counter Logic Gaming - 10 Points
- Gravity - 10 Points
- Team Dignitas - 0 Points
And here's the EU teams' point standings:
- Fnatic - 90 Points
- Unicorns of Love - 70 Points
- H2K Gaming - 50 Points
- Origen - 0 Points
- Giants Gaming - 0 Points
- Team ROCCAT - 0 Points
Whoever finishes with the most points after the 2015 Summer Split Playoffs will qualify for Worlds as the second seed from their respective regions. Anyone finishing 6th or above will receive points, and with up to 90 Points still up for grabs, that Worlds spot can still be nabbed by just about anyone.
Note: If there happen to be any ties in overall Championship Points, the team that earned the most points in the Summer Split will be the holder of the tiebreaker.
Here are the number of points ready to be picked up, based on Summer Split Playoff finishes:
2nd - 90 Points
3rd - 70 Points
4th - 40 Points
5th-6th - 20 points
The Regional Qualifiers
Those hard-earned Championship Points won't go to waste if a team doesn't get that second seed, though, as the third and final way to qualify for Worlds is to win a Regional Qualifier. Seeded into a single elimination knockout gauntlet based on their final Championship Points standings, teams with fewer points will have to play more Best of 5 matches, beating all of the higher seeds in order to qualify. Basically, teams that finish with more Points won't have to win as many Best of 5s to get to Worlds.
The bracket looks like this:
Not as complicated as it sounds, right?
So there you have it, the postseason plans for both NA and EU LCS! Will your favorite team make it to Worlds? Find out by keeping your eyes right here on Lolesports when the Playoffs start on August 8. And if you want to attend any of the Playoffs or Regional Qualifiers in person, head over to the Tickets page. See you there!
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