2025 is probably the most eventful year in the LEC’s history. The winter split brings the fearless draft, spring relies on numerous best-of-3 games, and in the summer, three teams can qualify for Worlds.
Although there will still be three splits in the LEC in 2025, the rules will be different. So will everything get better soon or just more complicated? The short winter split starts directly with a new mode: in a three-part round robin phase, all teams compete against each other. The top eight teams qualify for the playoffs, with the last two being eliminated.
The winner of two best-of-three matches advances. After that, best-of-five matches follow. The winner goes to “First Stand” in Korea. “The teams should be optimally prepared for the new international tournament,” explains Maximilian Peter Schmidt, tournament manager for Europe, at the presentation of the changes. Therefore, the Fearless Draft is used to get the best possible team performance. After Europe’s early exit from the World Championships, it remains to be seen whether “First Stand” will fare better.
Spring is all about best-of-3
The spring split is all about best-of-3 games – but without fearless drafting. The teams will start with a round robin phase again, with the strongest sextet reaching the play-offs. Two tickets for the MSI in Canada will then be played for in a best-of-5. The winners of the MSI will automatically qualify for the Worlds. However, the teams will hardly have much time to prepare for a format.
The summer split brings another innovation: the teams compete against each other in two groups, with the top two teams from each group going directly into the playoffs. Third and fourth place will compete in an additional round to advance. In the end, the best trio of the summer split qualifies for the LoL World Championships in Chengdu.
No more season finale
Not only the rules, but also the structure of the league has been completely overhauled. In the past, there was a “Grand Final” at the end of the season after the summer split, in which the winners of the individual splits and the teams with the most championship points competed against each other for a chance to play in the World Championship. According to Riot, however, this led to dissatisfaction among the teams, which is why the finals and the championship points were abolished.
Now, only those who perform well in the summer split will qualify – the results from winter and spring no longer play a role. It remains to be seen whether the new system will help Europe at the international level. However, one thing is certain: the current world champions T1 and the Asian competition remain a tough nut to crack. Europe has not won the World Championship since Fnatic’s victory in 2011.
International restructuring at Riot
The changes in the LEC are part of a series of restructurings in Riot’s eSports strategy. Internationally, several regions have recently been merged: the North American league LCS merged with the Latin American league to form the LTA, while leagues such as Vietnam and Japan now compete together as the “Pacific League” (LCP).
The mergers led to some teams being dropped from the league – a move that was met with displeasure by many fans. Riot’s response was clear: “We hope that fans of teams that were not adopted into the new league will still find a team they can support.” For many, this was not the answer they had hoped for.
