How do the 2022 LCS Summer Playoffs work?
Last Updated on: 19th August 2022, 06:22 pm
The 2022 LCS Summer Playoffs are here, and each team has a chance to make it to the world championship. With three spots up for grabs, the best three teams have to show up and show off what they are made of to make it all the way.
There is one question, though, how do the LCS Summer Playoffs work? What format does the LCS use, since every region uses a different format?
Do teams have a second chance even if they drop a series? How is the seeding decided?
What format does the LCS Summer Playoffs use?
Format-wise, the LCS uses a double elimination bracket for their playoffs. There are two brackets, the winner’s bracket and the loser’s bracket. In the losers bracket, the seventh and eighth place teams wait for their opponents and have no room for error, while the rest of the teams in the winner’s bracket can lose a series and still be in the playoff picture.
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In the winner’s bracket, there are six teams in total. Two teams, the first and second seed, get a bye, meaning they don’t have to play in the first round and have an easier time making it to the finals. The other four teams, the teams placed third through sixth, have to play a series to decide who will move on to face the first and second seeds.
For those two teams, two outcomes can happen. If they win, they wait until the first seeded team decides their opponent, leaving the second seed with the team that was not selected. The losers move down to the losers bracket, where the fourth or fifth place team will face off against the eighth place team, and the third or sixth place team faces off against the seventh place team.
After the second round, the teams that won move on to the next round, and what happens to the losers depends on where they are in the bracket. If a team loses in the loser’s bracket, they are eliminated, and their season is over with no shot at making worlds. If a team loses in the winner’s bracket, they move down to the loser’s bracket and still have a chance. Winners move on to the next series no matter where they fall in either bracket.
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Is the loser’s bracket doomed?
The loser’s bracket is not a death sentence for any team that gets sent down there or ends up there after losing a series. Last split, in Europe and North America, the winners made loser’s bracket runs to win the championship. In North America, Evil Geniuses made the run, sweeping every team they went against through the finals to book their ticket to MSI.
Just because a team gets sent down to the loser’s bracket does not mean they have no chance to make it to the finals. More teams have made runs in the lower bracket, most commonly called “Miracle runs.” It depends on how well the team can bounce back and perform after a loss.
The LCS Summer Playoffs carry more weight than the Spring playoffs since three teams can earn a spot in the biggest tournament for the game. There are teams from all over the world that come and face off against each other to be crowned the World Champion.
For the complete schedule for the 2022 LCS Summer Playoffs, make sure to check lolesports.com.
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