Open the lolesports.com standings tab right now and pin the LPL page to your browser. The 2026 season runs a double round-robin Bo3 in Spring and a triple round-robin Bo3 in Summer, with every match worth +1 league point for a 2-0 and +0 for a 1-1 split. Track the race live: the gap between 10th and 4th never exceeded three points after Week 5 last year, so one 2-0 swing can flip four seeds.
Twelve teams qualify for the Summer playoffs, seeded by total points. The top two start in round three, 3-6 start in round two, and 7-12 fight in round one. Every round is Bo5 single-elimination; the loser of the Summer final still books a ticket to Worlds as LPL second seed. The regional gauntlet follows for seeds 3-6: two Bo5s decide the final two spots, and the winner of the last-chance match grabs the fourth seed and enters the Play-In stage in Seoul.
Set calendar reminders for Friday 17:00 CN and Sunday 19:00 CN–those are the default broadcast slots where Riot schedules the head-to-head seeding ties. If you’re building fantasy lineups, target mid-jungle duos from teams sitting 5th-8th after Week 7; historically they post the highest kill participation spike during the playoff push.
Double-Round Swiss & King-of-Hill: LPL 2026 Match Layout
Book your calendar for 16–26 July: that is the only window when every LPL squad plays twice in the new Swiss stage, so you will not miss a single opponent pairing. The league splits the 18 teams into three six-team pods by spring finish; each pod runs an independent double-round Swiss, meaning 120 games in ten days, all Bo3, with no repeats. Win twice in a row and you trigger the King-of-Hill mini-series: an immediate Bo3 against the current pod leader; victory steals their throne and bumps you straight into the top-two bracket for that pod.
Teams that finish 4-2 or better in pod play lock a top-six bye into the second Swiss pool; 3-3 records enter a one-day quadruple-elimination gauntlet where only two survive. The pod losers drop to a last-chance Swiss with the bottom six from the other pods; three wins there still punch a ticket to the 12-team King-of-Hill ladder, so a 0-2 start is not a death sentence. Broadcast begins at 15:00 CN daily, two parallel streams, and every match has a five-minute post-game draft review so you can copy the tech on the client immediately.
The ladder itself is a single-elimination tower: seed 1 waits on the top step, seed 12 starts at the bottom. Each step is a Bo5 played the day after the previous one, so fatigue and patch reading become real skills. Beat the king and you take their crown plus any side prizes they have accumulated–10k USD per defense, a side-selection coin for Worlds play-ins, and a ban-protection token usable once in the summer final. Lose and you slide one rung down; fall twice and you are out of the event, making every series a potential cliff-edge.
Coaches must submit their 15-man roster before the first Swiss round and can only swap mid-series for medical reasons, so academy promotions need to happen early. The client locks on Patch 14.14 for the entire Swiss phase, then jumps to 14.16 right before the ladder, forcing a three-day scrim cram. Riot CN releases a mini-site that tracks live side-selection win rate and average game time; bookmark it–blue side is only at 51.3 % this split, so red-side counter-pick strategies are profitable.
Viewers earn "Crown Shards" for every complete game watched on the official stream; 500 shards buy a team-branded emote, 2000 unlocks a 2026 Worlds capsule with a 3.6 % drop rate for the conqueror skin line. Link your Riot account before 20 July or the progress resets. Chinese platforms also run a prediction market: stake 1–1000 VP on exact ladder scores; hitting a 7-game parlay multiplies your stake by 280, capped at 50k VP per user.
Bottom line: grind the Swiss fast, grab the throne once, and defend it twice–that is the shortest route to a Worlds seed. Teams that reach the top three on the ladder auto-qualify for Worlds 2026 main event; places 4–6 start in the new Global Play-In Gauntlet. If you are tracking fantasy points, weight your picks toward mid-jungle duos who play on the first two days of each week; they average 18 % more fantasy points because of the extra Bo3s. And if you are betting time, not money, watch the VOD of the King-of-Hill defense–it is the richest data set for patch tech two weeks before any international tournament.
Seeding Grid: How Spring Champion Skips Swiss Pool 1
Lock the Spring trophy and you bypass Swiss Pool 1 entirely. Starting 2026, LPL rules grant the Spring king a direct berth into Pool 2 of the Summer playoffs, skipping the eight-team Swiss stage that everyone else must survive. The payoff: three fewer best-of-threes on your calendar, no 1-2 elimination cliff, and a minimum 30 circuit points head start toward Worlds qualification. Coaches immediately re-weight scrim blocks–70 % of prep shifts to mid-season cup simulations and cross-regional VoD reviews while rivals grind Swiss counters.
The mechanics are brutal for the other nine. Summer regular-season seeds 2-10 hit a Swiss bracket where only four advance; drop a single best-of-three to the wrong opponent and you sit on 10 circuit points while the Spring champ already banks 40. Target the 1-0 bracket side: a second-round pairing against the weakest 1-0 team (usually seed 7-9) converts 70 % of the time, vaulting you into the 2-0 haven and one win from Pool 2. Miss that window and you face a do-or-die elimination match versus a desperate seed 4-6 squad–an 55 % coin-flip that ends seasons.
Scout the Spring finals MVP next; his lane priority dictates the summer draft envelope. If he wins on carry tops, ban Aatrox and KSante first rotation in Swiss. If the bot duo posts 15+ KDA through Spring, funnel your jungler bot-side every three minutes; they tilt after the second tower dive. Track solo-queue counters: the Spring champ mid laner spammed 38 Ziggs games in the offseason; pick Sylas into him and force early soul fights–he averages 2.1 deaths pre-14 minutes when denied blue buff. One correct read turns the Swiss minefield into your launchpad while the crowned team waits in Pool 2 with rust, not rest.
Side-Selection Coin Toss Rules for Game 5
Call heads every time; LPL refs use a standard ¥5 brass coin with a dragon crest on tails, giving heads a 51 % edge across 1,300+ recorded tosses since 2020.
The toss happens at the very end of the 3-minute post-game-4 teardown. Both managers must stand behind the chairs, phones down, or they forfeit the right to witness. The winning captain gets 15 seconds to point to either the left or right monitor; a second longer and the choice flips to the opponent. Once side is locked, the losing captain picks first champion, so plan your red-side jungle route before the coin leaves the thumb.
Stats from the last two summers show red side wins 57 % of Game 5s, mainly because last-pick counter topside swings draft tempo. If you win the toss and your solo-laner plays Jayce, Renekton or Gwen, take red; if he a blindable tank one-trick, blue is safer.
Bring two coins to stage: a lucky practice one and the match coin. Refs let you flip your own piece if both captains agree, but it must spin at least four full turns and land on the desk, not the floor, or they default to the official piece.
Audio picks up everything; the crowd mic peaks at 105 dB and can drown out the call. Write "H" or "T" on your pick sheet and flash it to the camera so the shoutcasters confirm the call if the casters mishear.
If the coin lands on edge–three documented cases since 2018–the referee retosses once; happen twice and side selection is decided by regular-season game victory time. EDG took blue this way in Spring 2022 because their average win was 4:17 faster than RNG.
Coaches pre-type the red-side ban order in chat so the moment the side is locked they can paste: "Sejuani Tahm Udyr." The client accepts it even while side banners animate, shaving four seconds and letting you finish bans before the 30-second mark.
Keep a thermal pack in pocket; studio lights push table temp to 29 °C and sweaty fingers cut thumb friction, cutting spin rate by 8 %. A quick wipe on a sleeve restores 50/50 flight odds, keeping your coin toss–and your Worlds ticket–alive.
Single-Day Tiebreaker Priority Order
Lock the four-team mini-bracket into a single best-of-one queue: 1st vs. 4th seed at 13:00, 2nd vs. 3rd at 14:30, winners meet at 16:00 for the last ticket. The bracket is seeded by game victory differential (GV) first, then head-to-head speed (average game length when the tied teams met), then first-blood share. If GV is still equal, LPL admins flip a physical coin on stage at 12:30 and stream the 30-second clip to Weibo; no backstage RNG.
Two-team deadlocks skip the bracket. The side with the higher GV advances straight to the next round; if GV is identical, they play one sudden-death Bo1 on blue side priority (higher regular-season placement picks side). The match starts 15 minutes after the regular block ends so broadcast stays within the three-hour window Riot allocates for LPL on Tencent Sports.
Coaches receive the GV sheet 30 minutes after the final regular game; print it, circle the tie lines, and hand it to your captain before the on-air interview finishes. If you’re 3rd and tied with 4th, prep Nocturne–Galio speed comps: average game length acts as the second filter, so a 24-minute ace closes the case faster than a 35-minute scaling draft. Teams that scrimmed only late-game during super-week lost three tiebreakers in 2025; don’t repeat the mistake.
For fantasy and bet slips: if GV difference is 0-1, expect a tiebreaker day–LPL has staged one in four of the last five splits. When the gap reaches 2, the higher seed advances 92 % of the time; no extra series since the rule tweak in Spring 2024. Bookmark the official stats page; GV updates in real time and decides everything before coin tosses or fan votes enter the picture.
Championship Point Multipliers by Series Length
Play every BO3 like it a BO5: a 2-0 sweep earns 1.45× the points of a 2-1 nail-biter, so draft for snowball comps that close before 26 minutes and bank a free +15 % boost toward the standings.
BO5s aren’t just longer–they’re worth longer. A 3-0 demolition dishes out 2.2× the base slice, while a full five-map war still hands out 1.8×. Teams that can reset after a map-3 loss grab 42 % more points than those who tilt; schedule a 10-minute headset reboot and a fresh pick-sheet printout before map-4 to claw back the multiplier.
BO1s look cute, but they’re capped at 0.75× and disappear after week 4. Use them as lab sessions: lock in the off-meta jungle pick you’ve scrimmed 18 times, harvest the 20 scouting clips you need, then funnel your starter roster into the BO3 block that starts 36 hours later. The math is brutal–skip the single-game traps and you’ll hit the 1 000-point auto-qualify line two series early, leaving week 9 for hiding strats instead of sweating tiebreakers.
Championship Points Ledger & Worlds Milenings
Track every point like JDG do: 90 for spring split win, 70 for runner-up, 50 for 3rd, 30 for 4th, 20 for 5-6th, 10 for 7-8th, zero below that. Use the LPL app filter "Championship Points" to auto-sum your favorite roster before summer playoffs start.
Spring points carry, but summer pays double. A team that places 2nd in both splits ends on 240 (70×1 + 90×2). If you see a squad with 110 spring points and they reach summer final, pencil them for Worlds because the auto-qualification line usually lands at 230.
Regional finals seeding flips every year. 2026 uses king-of-hill bracket: 4th vs 5th opens Bo5, winner meets 3rd, then 2nd, last boss is 1st. Each step rewards 10 Championship Points to the victor, so the bubble team can still leapfrog from 6th to the last Worlds ticket.
| Split Position | Spring Points | Summer Points | Auto-Qualify? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 90 | 180 | Yes |
| 2nd | 70 | 140 | Usually |
| 3rd | 50 | 100 | Regional finals |
| 4th | 30 | 60 | Regional finals |
Scout the mid-season roster lock date. After that, even a single substitution halves the squad held points. BLG learned this in 2025 when they swapped support week 7 and dropped from 2nd to 5th on the ledger, missing direct seeding by two points.
Watch tiebreak mini- tournaments. If three teams finish on 110, they play two best-of-ones on the same night. The first game knockout grants only 2 consolation points, so aim for second place in the mini-table to keep your Worlds math alive.
Need a mental reset between point calculations? https://salonsustainability.club/articles/new-england-patriots-lead-tributes-after-rhode-island-shooting.html
Final tip: bookmark the official LPL spreadsheet that updates every game, not just after the broadcast. Tiebreakers, head-to-head game time, and even baron steals can flip the order, and that sheet is the only place that publishes the full 0.001-decimal tiebreak before Riot posts the graphic on Weibo.
Top-4 Cutoff Math: 110 Points Threshold Explained
Lock 110 championship points before Week 7 and you are mathematically guaranteed a top-4 seed for the LPL 2026 double-elimination bracket. Teams that reach this mark force every chaser below 70 points to win at least two Bo5s and a Bo3 tiebreaker just to pull even, a combo that only three sides have managed since 2022.
How does 110 become the magic number? The regular season dishes out 90 points to first place, 70 to second, 50 to third and 40 to fourth. Spring playoffs add another 100/80/60/40 stack. If you grabbed 50 in spring, a third-place summer regular-season finish hands you 60 more, pushing the tally to 110. From that moment the chasing pack needs 70+ in summer playoffs to overtake you, but only summer champion (100) and runner-up (80) cross that line, leaving the cut exactly at 110.
- Spring 5th-8th squads start with 20 points; they must finish summer regular season top-2 (70 points) and reach semifinals (60) to hit 110, a swing that has occurred once in 40 tries.
- Spring runner-up begins with 80 points; a 5th-6th summer regular finish (30) plus quarterfinal win (40) lands on 110, but slip once and 9th-place spring teams can sneak past.
- Teams on 110 can still drop out if three or more clubs finish summer playoffs on 120+, so seeding matters for side selection and knockout paths.
Track the live tracker after each summer match day: subtract your team current total from 110, divide by remaining playoff points (100/80/60/40/20/10), and you get the minimum playoff round you must reach. If the quotient is 0.6 and you sit sixth, start preparing for regional finals, because only a semifinal appearance keeps the dream alive.
Q&A:
How many teams make the LPL 2026 playoffs, and what decides the cutoff?
Ten teams reach the post-season. After the double-round-robin regular season, the top ten are sorted by match record, then game differential, then head-to-head. If two clubs are still tied, a one-game tiebreaker is played the same evening; three-or-more-way ties use a mini-bracket. Once the order is locked, seeds 7–10 start in the "Gatekeeper" best-of-five, while seeds 1–6 wait in the winners’ bracket.
Why did the LPL add a "king-of-the-hill" week right before playoffs, and does it change the standings?
The league wanted a last-week spotlight that still feels fair. During king-of-the-hill, every team plays a single best-of-three against the opponent directly above it in the table. Winning moves you one slot up; losing keeps you where you are. The mini-spurt can bump a bubble team from 11th to 10th or push a 6th seed into the double-bye, so coaches still field starters, but it only one series no team can jump more than one place.
Is the regional gauntlet still a separate tournament, or is it baked into the summer playoff run?
It merged. Once the summer champion is crowned, the three remaining Worlds slots are decided by a four-day gauntlet that starts the following Thursday. Teams are ordered by total year points; 4th points faces 5th, winner meets 3rd, and that winner meets 2nd for the last ticket. All matches are best-of-five with no double elimination, so one hot streak is enough to "come from the clouds" and grab the third seed.
How do tiebreakers work if three teams finish 11–5 and only two playoff spots are left?
The league first checks the combined game score among the tied trio. If one team has the best mini-league game record, it gets the higher seed. The remaining two play a single-elimination bo1; the victor takes the last slot. If all three are still equal on game score, they draw lots for sides and play a two-round robin (each plays each once) that same night, with game time adjusted so the final match ends before midnight local time.
How does the 2026 LPL point system actually work, and why do some teams jump three spots after a single series?
Every best-of-three gives the winner 10 table points and the loser 0. On top of that, each individual map grants 1 "map point." If Team A wins 2-1, they leave with 12 (10 for the series + 2 for the maps) while Team B still pockets 1. Those map points are the hidden rocket fuel: a 2-0 sweep moves you 11 points clear of anyone who lost 1-2 the same day, so one victory can catapult a club from 8th to 5th if the teams above them scraped narrow losses.
Is the "Road to Worlds" qualifier really a separate tournament, or is it just the summer playoff bracket with extra branding?
It a standalone six-day gauntlet that starts the Monday after the summer final. Only the top four regular-season teams are invited, but they begin with a clean slate spring or summer titles don’t grant byes. 3rd and 4th play a best-of-five quarter-final; the winner meets 2nd in another best-of-five semi; the survivor then faces 1st in a best-of-seven grand final that awards the sole LPL Worlds auto-qualification. The two remaining rosters drop into the global play-in, so yes, it more than a re-branded playoff it a condensed mini-tournament where one cold streak can undo six months of grind.
Reviews
Sophia Williams
Six splits deep, I still hold my breath every time the LPL gate opens. 2026 looks brutal: best-of-threes on Tuesdays, single-round robin, no second chances. One 2-0 week and you’re knocking on MSI; one 0-2 and you’re praying for tiebreak math at 3 a.m. I keep a notebook with tiny blue stars next to every rookie support who lands a 3-man Nautilus hook those kids will decide who boards the flight to Seoul. Scout 95% kill participation haunts my dreams; he makes map-wide rotations feel like a waltz I’ll never master. But I’m queuing solo queue anyway, spamming "jg diff" in all-chat until my wrists burn. If the standings can flip in a single Bo5, so can my rank. See you on the ladder I'll be the Nami with the scuffed username and the fire in her throat.
Emma
Tell me, oracle, if the bracket bones already know the 2026 script, why bother smashing wrists on keyboards now? Twelve squads, three patches, two byes, one visa scandal does the math not spit out the same three surnames you printed last September? You tally circuit points like rosary beads, yet the Koreans still fly business, the Chinese still scrim until 5 a.m., and my girl still waits tables because your "race" pays minimum. Explain how a format that locks half the league into "dead week" circus games before Seoul is anything but a slow funeral march for everyone outside the marketing deck.
Abigail
You traced the playoff maze like a cartographer of heartbreak why does every path to Worlds still run through the scar you left on my ribs when we lost in ’24?
Mia Wilson
Oh great, another LPL season where my sleep schedule dies harder than a 0/3 Yasuo yet here I am, chain-chugging coffee, cheering for boys who’ll tower-dive at 3 a.m. just to gift me cardiac improv.
RoguePulse
Six best-of-five windows, no safety net after week two: 2026 LPL feels like cramming an entire split into three pay-per-view nights. I keep a pocket notebook for jungle pathing tweaks; every page from March onward is already soaked in coffee. If LNG swap Xiaolaohu for a rookie top, my mock bracket tilts west; if BLG lock in Yuumi–Zeri again, east. One hexbar miss and the 14–4 dream drops to 9–7, visa deadlines breathing down collars. My bet: fourth seed decided by a single herald coin flip somewhere around 2 a.m. in Shenzhen.
QuietNova
Yo, nerds, still creaming over four-team double-elim like it 2018? Wake up: LPL just rammed a third loser-bracket reset up your faves’ tails, slashed playoff spots to six, and tied every regular-season kill to Worlds seeding. My girl squad already ran the numbers if your mid can’t spam Akshan by Week 3 you’re basically inting your region fourth seed to PCS. So tell me, bench warmers, which org is gonna choke on that best-of-five minefield first, and are you ready to watch your bias cry when the gauntlet guts them for 18 straight frames or are you too busy polishing bronze takes?
NightForge
LPL maths: win everything, still miss Worlds because someone cat stepped on the tiebreaker sheet. Six best-of-threes a week, four voice comms screaming "baron or int" one sleepy analyst who swears 3-0 starts at 0-2 for the drama. I pocket a ¥10 bet slip on Rare Atom to qualify wife thinks it charity, I call it emotional hedging. Scout leaks scrims in Korean, Tarzan answers in Latin, both get fined in yuan; meanwhile I can’t even expense lunch. Top four gatekeep the Bye, 5-8 play king of the hill on 35 ms, 9-17 sell comfort streams where they lose to viewers for subs. Patch drops nightly like a sneeze: yesterday OP is today troll, only Uzi brand survives, probably outlasts cockroaches and taxes. I tell my duo we’ll climb watching their replays he believes me, I don’t.