Introduction: The S16 season has officially kicked off, and it's believed that the vast majority of players have been following the recent clashes closely. The competitions across major regions have been extremely intense. Although the overall excitement for this season isn't particularly high, the organizers have added numerous world-level contests to maximize attention. Recently, the schedule for the EWC world confrontation was officially released, surprising fans as the LPL region will have three teams participating. The LCK region, having won last season's championship, directly earned four slots. The format is also very compact, with all matches except the finals being BO1 and BO3, while the finals are BO5. LPL still has a chance, and the prize money reaches as high as 14 million.

Three LPL teams to participate in the new round of the World Championship

Most players remain highly interested in world-class competitions. In recent years, the esports industry has grown rapidly, significantly boosting the popularity of these events. However, with the LCK region once again dominating the world stage, the league has experienced a downturn. To reverse this trend, the organizers have increased the number of world-class contests. The S16 season will feature six world-level League of Legends tournaments. EWC, which debuted last season, was won by LCK's Gen.G team. The second edition of this event is about to begin, and the full schedule has been officially announced.

First, let's look at the participating teams from each major region. This competition invites a total of 16 teams. There is one direct invite spot for Gen.G, the 2025 EWC champions. There are six slots for the champions of each region: the LPL second split champion, LCK MSI path champion, LEC second split champion, LCS second split champion, CBLOL first split champion, and LCP second split champion. If Gen.G also wins the LCK championship, their spot will be passed to the LCK runner-up. Additionally, there are online qualifier spots: two teams each from China, Korea, and Europe, and one from other regions, totaling nine teams from qualifiers.

This means that in this EWC competition, the LPL region will have three teams participating, while the LCK region, after securing a direct slot, will have four teams competing. The 16-team lineup is a star-studded roster comparable to the World Championship. The schedule is quite tight, lasting only five days. The 16 teams are divided into four groups, each conducting a double-elimination group stage. Group stage matches are BO1, losers' bracket matches are BO3, and the top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage. The final eight teams compete in a single-elimination bracket with BO3 matches, except for the grand final, which is BO5. This format still gives LPL teams a solid chance.

Last season's final featured LCK's Gen.G and LPL's AL teams, with both teams performing closely. Gen.G won after a fierce five-game series, 3-2. This season, AL will continue with their original roster and are likely to secure a spot. The excitement level of this tournament is expected to surpass both MSI and the Rift Rivals. The four likely LCK teams are Gen.G, T1, HLE, and BFX. KT and DK, after roster changes, seem unlikely to break into the top four.

Farewell thoughts

This year's schedule is extremely packed, featuring six world-class competitions within a year: Rift Rivals, MSI, EWC, Asian Games, World Championship, and the Esports Nations Cup. For the LPL region, this presents a huge challenge. If LCK wins all six tournaments, it will mark a very dark period for LPL. It all depends on whether our teams can perform well. Even securing one championship could ignite massive excitement online.

What do all of you viewers think about this situation?