The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be either a single game, a series of games, or a tournament, and may use a single-elimination system or one of several other different playoff formats. Playoff, in regard to international fixtures, is to qualify or progress to the next round of a competition or tournament.
The League Championship Series (LCS) was the top level of professional League of Legends in the United States and Canada. The esports league was run by Riot Games and had anywhere from eight to 10 teams. Each annual season of competition was divided into two splits, spring and summer, which concluded with a double-elimination tournament between the top teams. At the end of the season, the winner, runners-up and third-place team of the summer playoffs qualified for the annual League of Legends World Championship.
The League of Legends Pro League (LPL) is the top-level professional league for League of Legends in China. The first season of the LPL was the 2013 Spring season. The top three finishers of the playoff tournament receive automatic bids to the League of Legends World Championship. Playoffs are an eight team single elimination with each step a best-of-five series. The total prize pool is ¥2,350,000. In 2014 Riot Games began providing an English language broadcast. The format is modeled after the League of Legends Champions Korea format in South Korea. In September 2015 it was announced that Riot Games was in negotiations with Tencent to take over operations of the league. In 2019, Riot Games and Tencent created joint venture, TJ Sports, to focus on all League of Legends esports business in China, including tournament organizing, talent management, and venues.
The Garena Premier League (GPL) was a professional League of Legends esports league with teams in Southeast Asia. It was founded in 2012. The opening event took place on May 5 with Riot's CEO Brandon Beck, VP of Gaming Dustin Beck, Taiwanese game designer Jeff Lin, and Nikasaur attending personally. It is the first regional professional esports competition of League of Legends in the world. In last season - 2018 Spring - the league consists of 5 teams who are the champions of 5 national leagues in Southeast Asia. The top four teams of group stage are advanced to the playoff, which are held in a best-of-5 single elimination system.
The Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is an annual League of Legends international tournament hosted by Riot Games in the middle of years, since 2015. It is the second most important international League of Legends tournament aside from the World Championship.
League of Legends esports is the professional competition of the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It is developed and published by Riot Games and was first released in 2009.
The Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) is a professional League of Legends esports league run by Riot Games and VNG Games, a subsidiary of VNG Corporation since 2022 after Garena stopped publishing League of Legends and its major competitions in Vietnam. From 2013 to 2017, the VCS was a tier below Garena Premier League (GPL). In 2018, the VCS broke away from the GPL and became a separate tier one league. In 2025, the VCS will return to being a tier two league, being below the upcoming League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP). The Vietnamese teams had the opportunity to participate directly in international events of League of Legends organized by Riot Games before then.
GAM Esports is a professional League of Legends team competing as a partnered team in the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP), the highest level of competitive League of Legends in the Asia-Pacific region. During their time in the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS), GAM was the dominant team in Vietnam. The team first rose to international prominence in 2017, after their exceptional performance at that year's Mid-Season Invitational (MSI).
The League of Legends SEA Tour (LST) was a professional League of Legends esports tournament in Southeast Asia that was founded in 2018 by Garena as a replacement for the Garena Premier League (GPL). The competition consisted of teams who qualified through the LST qualifiers of each minor region: Indonesia–Malaysia–Singapore, Philippines, and Thailand. Winners of the LST represented Southeast Asia at the Mid-Season Invitational and World Championship.
DetonatioN FocusMe (DFM) is a Japanese esports organization with professional teams competing across several titles. It was established as a Counter-Strike Online team named DetonatioN Gaming (DNG) in July 2012.
Pentagram was a Japanese professional esports organization based in Tokyo. It was originally known as Rampage from its creation in September 2012 until its rebranding on 10 January 2018. The organization had a League of Legends team that participated in the League of Legends Japan League (LJL), the top level of professional League of Legends in Japan, and a PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds team that competed in domestic tournaments.
The Chiefs Esports Club, often shortened to The Chiefs, is a professional esports club who is or has fielded teams in League of Legends, Valorant, Halo Infinite and Rocket League. The team is based in Australia and is one of the most well known esports clubs in Oceania. The Chiefs' League of Legends team competed in the LCO, Oceania's top-level league for the game, but initially left in 2023 upon The Chiefs being acquired by fellow Australian organization Team Bliss Esports, who also fielded an LCO team. The Chiefs will return to League of Legends in 2025 as a guest team in the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP).
The Pacific Championship Series (PCS) is a professional esports league for League of Legends teams competing in the Asia-Pacific. Riot Games, the game's developer, created the league in 2019. This followed an announcement by Garena – the game's distributor in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia – that it planned to merge the League of Legends Master Series (LMS) and League of Legends SEA Tour (LST) into a single tournament jointly run with Riot Games.
PSG Talon is a professional esports organisation formed from a 2020 partnership agreement between PSG Esports and Talon Esports.
The League of Legends Circuit Oceania (LCO) was the top-level of professional League of Legends competition in Oceania, founded in 2021 and hosted by ESL Australia and Guinevere Capital. The LCO replaced the Oceanic Pro League (OPL), hosted by Riot Games Oceania from 2015 to 2020. The annual season consisted of two splits, each of which conclude in a double-elimination tournament between the top five teams.
The 2024 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the fourteenth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organised by the game's developer, Riot Games. The tournament was held from 25 September to 2 November in Berlin, Paris, and London. It marked the fifth time Europe has hosted the tournament, having held the event in 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2021. Twenty teams qualified for the event based on placement within their regional leagues and results gained in the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI).
The League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP) is an upcoming professional esports league for League of Legends teams competing in the Asia-Pacific region. Riot Games, the game's developer, and tournament organizer Carry International created the league on 29 September 2024. This followed an announcement in June by Riot in which they planned to form a single tournament to replace the Pacific Championship Series (PCS) and Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) as a tier-one league. Both leagues, along side the League of Legends Japan League (LJL), which was integrated into the PCS for the 2024 season, became tier-two leagues.
The 2025 League of Legends World Championship is an upcoming esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends, set to be held in China. It is the fifteenth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organised by the game's developer, Riot Games.
The 2025 Mid-Season Invitational will be the tenth Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), a Riot Games-organised tournament for League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena video game. The tournament will be held in Canada and will be the first edition of the tournament to be staged under the new split structure and competitive calendar introduced by Riot Games which is set to begin in 2025.
