The LCK will make its grand return after the Mid-Season Invitational and the League of Legends tournament of the Esports World Cup for its Rounds 3–5 phase. This last phase will start on Wednesday, July 23, as announced by the league of Tuesday. Matches will follow the usual schedule, with the first best-of-three kicking off at 5 PM KST and the second around 7 PM. The opening day of Rounds 3–5 will see Dplus KIA take on OKSavingsBank BRION, followed by a high-stakes clash between Gen.G and Hanwha Life Esports. Just like in Rounds 1–2, the Korean league will continue with its Wednesday-to-Sunday weekly format.

For the format, the ten LCK teams have been split into two groups based on their standings from Rounds 1–2. The top five—Gen.G, HLE, T1, Nongshim RedForce, and KT Rolster—make up the Legend Group, while the remaining five—Dplus KIA, BNK FEARX, BRION, DRX, and DN Freecs—form the Rise Group. One important note: teams keep their records from the previous rounds, so there’s no reset—Gen.G stays at 17–1, T1 at 11–7, and the Freecs at 1–17. Teams will compete in a triple round-robin, with all matches played in best-of-three.

A packed schedule

At the end of this phase, the top four teams from the Legend Group will qualify directly for the Season Playoffs. The bottom team from the Legend Group and the top three from the Rise Group will head to the Play-In Stage, while the two bottom teams overall will be eliminated. The Play-In will be a best-of-five double-elimination bracket, with two teams advancing to the Playoffs. The Playoffs will feature six teams in a double elimination format, with Seeds 1 and 2 starting in Round 2. This final bracket will not only crown the 2025 LCK champion but also determine Korea’s three representatives at Worlds 2025 in China—a number that could rise to four if Gen.G or T1 reaches the MSI final.

All matchdays of LCK Rounds 3–5 will feature two best-of-threes—one from each group—and run from July 23 to August 31. The Play-In stage will follow from September 3 to 7, with the Playoffs taking place from September 10 to the grand final on September 28. It’s a packed calendar for teams like T1 and Gen.G: with MSI in Canada ending on July 12, they’ll head to Riyadh for the Esports World Cup from July 16 to 20, before returning to Seoul for the LCK’s restart on July 23. For any roster making deep runs at both international events, the schedule will leave little room to breathe.