Foreword: The S16 season has officially begun, and I believe most players have been paying attention to the recent matches. With the MSI progressing gradually, the schedule for the LPL's third stage has been officially released. As expected, this MSI tournament remains unfavorable for teams in the Resurrection Group, as they have no chance for redemption and must win consecutively to make it to the playoffs. Despite the downturn in the League of Legends scene, two clubs are still recruiting youth trainees for the game, which shows they are either quite stubborn or that the LDL league is highly profitable.

LPL Third Stage Rules Announced

I believe most players are closely following the LPL region. This season, the LPL has shown strong overall performance, especially in the first stage. As the LPL champions, BLG defeated several top-tier teams in the Global Pioneer Tournament and ultimately claimed the coveted world championship trophy. After the second stage began, their momentum remained stable. Although they lost their first playoff match against WE, they went on a winning streak in the losers' bracket, secured the second-stage championship, and entered the MSI as the LPL's first seed. They have yet to play their first match, with their likely opponent being T1.

As the third stage approaches, the LPL's tournament rules for this stage have also been officially announced. Similar to before, there are two groups: the Summit Group and the Resurrection Group. The Summit Group consists of eight teams: AL, BLG, EDG, JDG, LGD, TT, TES, and WE. The Resurrection Group has four teams: IG, LNG, NIP, and WBG. Each group will play a double round-robin within their group in best-of-three matches using Fearless Draft, with rankings determined by points. The top six teams from the Summit Group advance directly to the playoffs, while the bottom two teams from the Resurrection Group will end their S16 journey.

The Knight's Path involves the seventh-place team from the Summit Group facing the second-place team from the Resurrection Group, and the eighth-place team from the Summit Group taking on the first-place team from the Resurrection Group. These are single-elimination best-of-five matches, with no second chances for the losers. The biggest change is in the playoffs: in the first round, the third and sixth teams from the Summit Group compete, as do the fourth and fifth teams. The two losing teams will then face the two teams that advanced through the Knight's Path. The winners of those matches will take on the first and second teams from the Summit Group. The top six teams in the playoffs have a second chance, while the two teams advancing from the Knight's Path have no room for error—they must win consecutively to challenge for the championship.

In the current unfavorable environment of the esports scene, two teams have surprisingly announced the establishment of League of Legends divisions. Following the official announcement from the xLG team recruiting youth trainees, the TE Su team also issued a notice recruiting a League of Legends training manager and coaching staff. Needless to say, the next step will involve the addition of youth trainees, eventually forming a complete roster. The League of Legends industry has now entered its twilight years, so it's puzzling why so many clubs still want to get involved—whether it's a true passion for the game or simply because the LDL league is too lucrative.

Parting Thoughts

As expected, whether it's IG or WBG, even if they make it to the playoffs, they will have no second chances. One loss will end their S16 journey. Given their current form, securing a spot at the World Championship will be challenging. Especially for WBG, as a newly assembled "ultimate all-Chinese" team, failing to even reach the playoffs would be a major embarrassment.

How do you, the audience, feel about this?