League of Legends LCK getting major changes to its playoff bracket for 2023 season

On November 18, 2022, League of Legends LCK officially announced that the tournament would significantly change its playoff bracket. It seems that LCK is set to introduce a lower bracket within its tournament, which is a considerable upgrade.

Until 2022, League of Legends LCK had only one bracket where the losing team would go home. However, once the lower bracket is officially introduced, losing teams will get a second chance at redemption once the knockouts begin.

Lower brackets are something that fans have been asking for quite a long time. This is because lower bracket matches often lead to fascinating stories where underdog teams pull through and win tournaments even in the face of all odds.

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Full details regarding the brand new playoff bracket in League of Legends LCK

As mentioned earlier, the new playoff bracket in League of Legends LCK will have a lower bracket. However, the exact way the games will be conducted has been presented below.

Round 1 (R1)

• Match1: Split 3rd vs Split 5th/6th
• Match 2: Split 4th vs Split 5th/6th

Round 2 (R2)

• Match 1: Split 1st vs R1 Match 1 Winner
• Match 2: Split 2nd vs R1 Match 2 Winner

Round 3 (R3)

• Upper Bracket: R2 Match 1 Winner vs R2 Match 2 Winner
• Lower Bracket: R2 Match 1 Loser vs R2 Match 2 Loser

Round 4 (R4)

• Lower Bracket: Upper Bracket Loser vs Lower Bracket Winner

Round 5 (R5)

• R3 Winner vs R4 Winner

Thus, the brackets look pretty good. Previously, the finals would be conducted in R3 itself. However, with this new system, there will be three more best-of-five games before the finals are conducted.

This will provide more chances for the losing teams to develop new strategies and make a mark in the same tournament itself. However, this will mean that the level of competition within LCK will get even better.

Unlike most other tournaments, LCK's regular season runs with a best-of-three format. Hence, the teams are already put into a boiling pot while the regular split is undergoing.

Introducing the lower bracket in the playoffs means winning the trophy will become even more difficult. In any case, this is something that fans have been asking for a long time.

League of Legends fans feel that most professional game tournaments have poor formats. The LEC has a terrible playoff system, while the LCK had no lower brackets previously. Even the MSI and Worlds formats are very punishing, where only one loss can mean absolute defeat.

However, lower bracket runs lead to interesting stories in tournaments for games like Dota 2 and Counter Strike. Underdog teams often showcase resilience when their backs are against the wall.

Hence, the League of Legends LCK 2023 Spring Split format might be the beginning of something new. Several fans hope that if this format succeeds, Riot Games might change the same for Worlds 2023.

In any case, the full impact of these changes will become even more prominent once the tournament officially begins somewhere in January 2023.