The Gauntlet Is the Third Way For LCS Teams to Qualify For Worlds - Here's How It Works

The North American Summer Split has come to an end. Playoffs are approaching soon, which means teams are fighting to qualify for the Season 5 World Championships taking place this October.

The first seed from the NA region will be the winner of the Summer Split playoffs, which follows a traditional single elimination bracket, with the top two teams of the Split, Counter Logic Gaming and Team Liquid, securing a semifinal berth.

The second seed will be the team with the most accumulated points from the Spring and Summer Split.

Place	Spring Split	Summer Split
1st	90	Automatically Qualifies
2nd	70	90
3rd	50	70
4th	30	40
5th - 6th	10	20
7th - 10th	0	0

In order to grab the third and final seed, the remaining four teams with the highest number of accumulated points from the Spring and Summer Split will run through The Gauntlet, which will take place after the first and second seed are decided.

The Gauntlet will consist of three rounds, each containing a Best of 5.

Of the four teams, the two teams with the lowest number of points accumulated over the two Splits will duke it out in the first round.

The winner of the first round will then go onto the second round and play against the team with the second highest number of points. The winner of the second round will then proceed to the third and final round, playing against the team with the most number of points accumulated over both Splits.

The winner of the final round will be the third seed and qualify for Worlds.

So yes, this means that teams that are currently lower in the standings like Cloud9 still have a chance of running the gauntlet (so to speak) and competing on the World stage. It'll be tough, but the possibility isn't completely out of reach. The system is designed so that teams that have fallen from grace get a second chance.

With a Split filled with so many upsets and highs and lows, The Gauntlet is sure to provide some entertaining matches, taking place over the course of three days at Riot's studio in Los Angeles:

• August 29 - Game 1: Team 4 vs. Team 3
• August 30 - Game 2: Winner of Game 1 vs. Team 2
• August 31 - Game 3: Winner of Game 2 vs. Team 1

Images from Riot Games. Graphic designs by Benson Li.