LoL Esports

The start of a new season for LoL Esports is here, bringing exciting updates, new formats and a global event roadmap that promises unforgettable moments for fans around the world. The 2025 season officially starts with the following regional start dates:

• LPL: January 12th

• LCK: January 15th

• LCP: January 17th

• LEC: January 18th

• LTA: January 25th

Split 1

One of the most significant changes this season is the introduction of the Full Fearless Draft to Split 1. This format, which excludes champions previously selected in a best-of series, is intended to encourage teams to access their full champion pool . For example, if you see a duel between K’Sante and Renekton in Game 1, it will not be repeated for the rest of the series, so teams will have to show their creativity and adaptability. This innovation will impact the meta across all regions, where Fearless Draft will be an integral part of Split 1 and will also be used in the new international event, the First Stand Tournament.

First Stand Tournament

The First Stand Tournament, taking place March 10-16 at LoL Park in Seoul, Korea, will feature the top team from each region’s Split 1 results. Aiming to be a defining moment in LoL esports early in the season, this tournament leverages Fearless Draft and raises the stakes: the winning team will receive a second bye for their region at MSI 2025 and advance directly to the bracket phase.

First Stand consists of two distinct phases: the Bo3 Round Robin Phase, in which teams compete in a single best-of-three Round Robin format (Bo3), and the Bo5 Knockout Phase, in in which the four best teams advance to a seeded single-elimination best-of-five (Bo5) round. The tournament eliminates the need for a draw process as all teams are entered directly into the round-robin phase, ensuring a lean and straightforward structure.

Round robin phase

In the round-robin phase, each team competes against every other team in a single best-of-three series (Bo3) to ensure fair and inclusive competition. The selection of sides in Game 1 for each series is randomly predetermined, ensuring that each team in two series has a side selection advantage, while the other two series do not provide this advantage. At the end of this phase, the fifth-placed team is eliminated, while the top four teams advance to the Knockout Phase.

Knockout phase

The top four teams in the Round Robin advance to a best-of-five round (Bo5) with single elimination, with the matchups determined by the Round Robin results: 1st place faces 4th place and 2nd place to 3rd place. The winners of these matchups advance through the round, culminating in a final showdown to crown the First Stand Champion.

Fearlessly explained

In Fearless Draft, all champions used in previous games of a best-of series are no longer available to either team in subsequent games, regardless of which team selected them. This creates an additional set of bans known as “Fearless Bans.” The standard 10 bans from the pick/ban phase (“standard bans”) remain in place for each game.

This is how it works:

• Game 1: 10 standard bans

• Game 2: 20 total bans (10 standard bans + 10 Fearless bans)

• Game 3: 30 total bans (10 standard bans + 20 Fearless bans)

• Game 4: 40 total bans (10 standard bans + 30 Fearless bans)

• Game 5: 50 total bans (10 standard bans + 40 fearless bans)

This format challenges teams to continually adapt and bring new strategies and champion tips to every game.

Check this out Explainer video to dive deeper into Fearless Draft and the First Stand Tournament!

MSI 2025

Beyond First Stand, further updates are planned for MSI and Worlds this season. MSI 2025 travels to Vancouver, Canada from June 27th to July 12th. Returning to Canada for a live LoL esports event for the first time since 2017, fans can look forward to the thrill and energy that Vancouver audiences are known for.

Two teams from each of the five regions will compete for the MSI Championship title, as well as an additional World Cup spot for the top two performing regions to raise the stakes. We have made a few adjustments to the MSI format this year that we would like to share shortly before the event. However, we will announce that every game throughout the tournament will be a best-of-5 match!

Worlds 2025

This year’s Worlds will take place in some of China’s most famous cities. The Play-Ins and Swiss Stage begin in Beijing, the quarter-finals and semi-finals take place in Shanghai, culminating in a grand final in Chengdu. While we will be announcing more venue-specific details shortly(™), one update we are introducing this year is the elimination of the break week between quarter-finals and semi-finals. Many fans have expressed feedback that they feel the momentum of the World Cup waning over this period, so we are pleased to be able to run these phases of the tournament back to back to provide uninterrupted action.

There are 17 teams participating in the World Championships: 3 places per region, 1 place for the region with the second best performance from MSI 2025 and 1 place for the region of the MSI 2025 champion. We’ll be back later this year to share more information about the entire Worlds format.

Drops 2025

In 2025, Drops will return to LoL Esports, supporting the regular season and major events such as First Stand, MSI and Worlds. While most drops are random and can occur at any time during a match, some moments are guaranteed – any Pentakill or Baron steal made in a Tier 1 league or tournament will trigger a drop.

Available all year long, the Esports 2025 capsule will be available, along with exclusive emotes and icons inspired by your favorite League of Legends champions, with a few poros sprinkled on top to celebrate each tournament’s biggest moments . Sign in to lolesports.com with your Riot ID to be in with a chance to win drops as they arrive.

LoL Esports in 2026 and beyond

Looking ahead to 2026 and 2027, fans can get a first look at our select global event destinations. First Stand in 2026 will begin in Brazil, home to some of the most passionate esports fans. The season will then move to Korea for MSI 2026, followed by a return of the World Championship to North America. In 2027, First Stand will travel to Southeast Asia, MSI will return to Europe and Worlds will once again be hosted in Korea, marking an exciting cycle of events in our regions.

With an ambitious roadmap and innovative formats, LoL Esports fans have a lot to look forward to this season. Here’s to a fantastic year!