LEC brings fresh twist on format to spice up the Summer Split

The League of Legends European Championship is breaking the mold with a revamped group stages format in the upcoming Summer Split, raising the stakes for the spots at Worlds 2025 later this year.

LEC 2025 has already moved to best-of-three matches in the Spring Split and is introducing a unique group stage, starting Aug 2, 2025, where the 10 teams are divided into two groups in the Summer Split. 

League teams will play a best-of-three series against the other four members within each group. Once the matches are concluded, the top two teams from each group will automatically advance to the playoffs, while the third and fourth teams will face off in cross-group best-of-five matches to determine the final teams to secure their places in the event. 

Once the top six teams are decided, they’ll enter a double-elimination gauntlet. The upper bracket teams have the safety net of a second chance, but the lower bracket teams face do-or-die scenarios and must make every series count. 

The playoffs will lead teams to Madrid, where, after a one-week break, they’ll compete for the titles on Sept. 26 to 28, 2025, for the Summer Split finals. 

The LEC has also confirmed there will be no Season Finals this year, which means that the entire path to Worlds for the EMEA teams will be decided during the Summer Split. With three Worlds spots on the line, the pressure has never been higher on the teams to keep the past aside and focus fully on the tournament. 

Movistar KOI are the current LEC champions from the Spring Split, but it doesn’t give them any championship points for the Worlds qualification race, so all the teams start with a clean slate and have an equal shot at making it to the biggest League tournament of the year. 

Along with the existing teams, NAVI is also set to debut on the LEC stage in the Summer Split. Fans can purchase the tickets for the LEC Summer Split 2025 for the first three weeks at Berlin’s Riot Games Arena on July 15, 2025, when they officially go on sale. After three weeks, tickets will be available for purchase each Tuesday at 5pm BST.