The two playoff finalists from the Spring Split of the China-based League of Legends Pro League (LPL) will be idle this week as the LPL begins its Summer Split.
The schedule for the 10-week Summer Split was released Tuesday. Play will begin Friday and run through Aug. 9.
Spring Split playoff champion JD Gaming will open June 10 against Suning. A day earlier, Spring Split playoff runner-up Top Esports will begin its Summer Split campaign against Rogue Warriors.
The Summer Split will open Friday with two matches: EDward Gaming vs. Team WE, and LNG Esports vs. Suning. On Saturday, Victory Five will oppose Dominus Esports, and Oh My God will meet Royal Never Give Up. The Week 1 slate concludes Sunday with Team WE vs. Suning followed by Bilibili Gaming vs. Vici Gaming.
The LPL’s 17 teams will compete in a single round robin of best-of-three matches, with the top eight sides advancing to the Summer Split playoffs.
All matches in the single-elimination postseason bracket will be best-of-five, with the dates yet to be announced. The top two teams will get double byes into the semifinals, and the third- and fourth-place teams will get byes in the quarterfinals. The fifth- through eighth-place teams will compete in the opening round.
The tiebreaker order for playoff positioning is game differential followed by head-to-head result.
The playoff winner will earn a spot in the League of Legends World Championship, scheduled to be played in China at a date to be announced.
The Summer Split prize pool has yet to be posted, but the JD Gaming earned 2 million yen (around $18,000) for winning the Spring Split playoffs, and Top Esports got 1 million yen (around $9,000) as the runner-up.
The LPL will be the first of the major League of Legends circuits to open its Summer Split. The League of Legends European Championship (LEC) and the North American-based League Championship Series (LCS) will begin June 12, and the League Champions Korea (LCK) will start June 17.
—Field Level Media