LPL Grand Finals bracket explained: who is fighting for Worlds

The LPL split the field into two groups this season: Ascend, the “good” group, and Nirvana, the “bad” group. Groups were set by Split 2 standings, with the top eight in Ascend and 9th to 14th in Nirvana. Here is a simple breakdown of the format and the current bracket.

LPL Grand Finals format

• Two stages: Play-In, then a double-elimination Bracket Stage with upper and lower bracket.
  
• The top four from Ascend advance directly to the Bracket Stage, TES, AL, BLG, iG.
  
• Play-In features Ascend 5th to 8th versus Nirvana 1st to 4th.
  
• Opponent selection: in order of their Ascend placement, the four direct qualifiers pick their Upper Bracket Quarterfinal opponents from the Play-In winners.
  
• All series are best of five, the Grand Final winner qualifies to Worlds as China’s first seed.

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Play-In matches

Teams on the left is from the Ascend group and teams on the right is from the Nirvana group.

• WBG 3-0 UP
  
• JDG 3-0 LGD
  
• WE 1-3 EDG
  
• FPX 2-3 NIP

Now it is up to the Ascend top 4 teams to choose who of WBG, JDG, EDG and NIP they will play in the first round of playoffs.

LPL Grand Final Playoffs: Matchups and Schedule (CEST)

Upper Bracket Quarterfinals

• Sun Sep 7, 08:00: BLG vs JDG
• Sun Sep 7, 11:00: IG vs EDG
• Mon Sep 8, 08:00: AL vs WBG
• Mon Sep 8, 11:00: TES vs NIP

Upper Bracket Semifinals

• Tue Sep 9, 11:00: Winner IG/EDG vs Winner BLG/JDG
• Wed Sep 10, 11:00: Winner AL/WBG vs Winner TES/NIP

Lower Bracket Round 1

• Thu Sep 11, 11:00: LB Round 1 Match 1
• Fri Sep 12, 11:00: LB Round 1 Match 2

Lower Bracket Quarterfinals

• Sat Sep 13, 11:00: LB Quarterfinal 1
• Sun Sep 14, 11:00: LB Quarterfinal 2

Upper Bracket Final

• Mon Sep 15, 11:00

Lower Bracket Semifinal

• Tue Sep 16, 11:00

Lower Bracket Final

• Sat Sep 20, 11:00

Grand Final

• Sun Sep 21, 11:00

Winners move through the upper bracket, losers drop to the lower bracket for a second chance.

Playing for Worlds

The LPL Grand Finals is a demanding playoff run, and only one direct ticket is on the line. The champion qualifies to Worlds as China’s first seed. Teams that fall short still have a path through the LPL Regional Finals, where the remaining Worlds spots for China are decided.