LPL reportedly undergoing massive format changes next split, introducing ‘Fearless’ mode

The LPL is reportedly transitioning to a new format next split, introducing “Fearless” mode, group divisions, and upper and lower brackets, according to LPL Fanclub. The fan page often reports leaks from Chinese media, and this looks to be one of them.

There are 17 League of Legends teams in the LPL, and this won’t change next split. Instead of competing in a single round-robin format, teams will be divided into four groups based on Spring Split results. In these groups, teams will compete in a double round-robin, best-of-three “Fearless” format. The last two teams in each group will fall into the lower bracket, while the remaining nine will advance to the upper bracket.

In these brackets, the draft system will shift toward the traditional pick-and-ban format. Seven teams from the upper bracket will advance directly to the playoffs, while three from the lower bracket will miss out. The remaining “six” will fight for the last three playoff spots in single-loss best-of-fives. The math isn’t correct here since seven teams would be left, not six. We believe this is likely a translation error or typo on LPL Fanclub’s part.

Some LPL fans have criticized these reported changes. But others are excited about the possibility Fearless mode brings to the league, which has been trialed by the LDL, China’s second-tier competition.

The mode forbids teams from reusing the same champions in the series. If a team picked Corki in game one, for example, they couldn’t pick that champion again in the second and third games of the series. The LPL has yet to comment on this report. Nothing has been confirmed at the time of writing.