The first stage of the LCK Cup, the Group Battle, has concluded with BNK FearX being eliminated and Dplus KIA, Gen.G, and KT Rolster securing direct qualification to the Playoffs. Later on, DRX, DN Freecs, and OKSavingsBank BRION were knocked out during the Play-In phase. Meanwhile, T1, Hanwha Life Esports, and Nongshim RedForce successfully secured their spots in the Playoffs, which will kick off on February 12 at 9 AM CET with KT vs NS. The winner of this playoffs phase will be the sole representative of South Korea at the year's first and newly introduced international tournament, the First Stand. Follow the LCK Cup Playoffs bracket in this article.

The first round of the Playoffs will see KT Rolster face off against Nongshim, while T1 will take on Hanwha Life Esports and their former toplaner, Choi "Zeus" Woo-je. This round is eliminative for the losing teams, raising significant concerns about the viability of this format: the reigning world champions, T1, or the reigning LCK champions, HLE, will be eliminated right away.

A BO5 Format

Meanwhile, KT, who lost to both T1 and HLE (the first and second seeds from the Play-In) during the Groupe Stage, only need to overcome Nongshim (the third seed) to reach Round Two—a stage that offers a safety net with a lower bracket. All Playoff matches will be played in a Bo5 format.

As a reminder, the winner of the LCK Cup is not crowned the LCK champion. This tournament solely serves as a qualifier for the First Stand. The official LCK champion will be determined during the Season Playoffs, which will feature a double-elimination bracket and will also decide the league’s representatives for Worlds 2025.