The 2019 LoL Pro League (LPL) Summer Playoffs begin on Thursday, August 22 and run until Friday, September 6. Eight teams will compete for a ¥ 3,500,000 Chinese Yuan prize pool and to be named China’s Summer Season champions at Shanghai Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China.
The LPL Summer Playoffs will climax on September 6. (Image via @lplenglish / Twitter)
THE STAKES
The eight playoff participants will compete for three rewards at the LPL Summer Playoffs: the ¥ 3,500,000 Chinese Yuan prize pool, a domestic championship, and 2019 World Championship qualification.
Prize Pool: Postseason tournaments are one of the few ways for players to supplement their income with tournament winnings since pro teams are very restricted in their access to third party tournaments. There is prize money for each team making it past round one, broken down by placing as follows:
First: ¥1,500,000
Second: ¥800,000
Third: ¥500,000
Fourth: ¥300,000
Fifth: ¥200,000
Sixth: ¥200,000
Seventh: N/A
Eighth: N/A
Domestic Championship: While international success is most remembered by the community at large, domestic success is incredibly important to fans of their home region. That is especially true in China, where teams have their own home venues and the competition is so fierce. Players like Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang and Zhuo “Knight9” Ding will feel pressure to capture an LPL championship.
World Championship Qualification: Undoubtedly the greatest prize of them all, the World Championship is the biggest stage of the year, making qualification one of the ultimate season goals. The Summer Season is given more weight than the Spring Season because it should be slanted toward teams with an upward trajectory as the World Championship approaches.
The winner of the Summer Season Championship automatically qualifies for the 2019 World Championship. The rest of the playoff participants will be given points toward qualification. The team with the highest championship points that did not win the Summer Season will qualify as the LPL’s second see to the World Championship. The three teams remaining with the highest championship points will face off in the Regional Finals for the third and final World Championship spot from the LPL Summer Season championship points will be rewarded as follows:
First: Automatic Qualification
Second: 90 CP
Third: 70 CP
Fourth: 40 CP
Fifth: 20 CP
Sixth: 10 CP
Seventh: 0 CP
Eighth: 0 CP
THE FORMAT
The LPL will use the same playoff format from the 2019 Spring Season. Each series will be a single-elimination, best-of-five match in a fixed bracket. There will be no re-seeding or choosing of opponents in later rounds. Fifth-seed EDward Gaming opens the playoffs against eight-seed Suning in round one. Sixth-seed Invictus Gaming follows against seventh-seed LNG Esports.
The winner of EDG versus Suning will face fourth-seed Bilibili Gaming in the first quarterfinal matchup. The winner of iG versus LNG will face third-seed Royal Never Give Up in the other quarterfinal matchup.
First-seed FunPlus Phoenix will debut in the semifinals against the winner of the BLG quarterfinals series. Second-seed Top Esports will face the winner of the RNG matchup. Those semifinals winners will advance to the finals on Friday, September 6 for a best-of-five match at the Shanghai Mercedes-Benz Arena.
The LPL will play a third-place match for the semifinals losers, but will not play a fifth-place match, despite awarding 10 extra championship points over sixth place. Fifth place is awarded to the quarterfinals loser with the better Summer regular-season record.
Stay tuned for our Summer Playoffs Team Preview!
