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League of Legends Japan League
Japanese esport league From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The League of Legends Japan League (LJL) is the top level of professional League of Legends competition in Japan.[2][3][4] The league franchised prior to start of the 2019 season and had eight teams under partnership (which became six in 2024).[1]
Before 2024, the spring and summer champions qualified for the Mid-Season Invitational and World Championship respectively.[5] However, in 2024, the top three teams from each LJL split were seeded into the Pacific Championship Series (PCS) playoffs and competed with other PCS teams for a chance to represent the larger region at international events; LJL teams would no longer qualify directly to MSI and Worlds. Since 2025, the LJL is a second division to the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP).
Each annual season of play is divided into three splits, Forge, Storm and Ignite, which then conclude a with playoff tournament known as the LJL Finals. The winner of the LJL Finals qualifies for the LCP Promotion Tournament for the opportunity to qualify for the Asia-Pacific tier one league.
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Format
Regular Season
Open Qualifiers
- Prior to each split, up to sixty-four teams participate in open qualifiers
- Depending on the number of teams entered, up to eight groups of eight are held, single round robin best-of-ones
- The top sixteen teams compete in a single elimination bracket, with all matches being best-of-threes
- Depending on how many spots need to be filled, loser's playoffs will be held after the qualifying round, also best-of-threes, to determine the remaining spots
Forge
- The best teams from the prior season still existing (plus the remaining open qualifier teams) participate in a sixteen-team Swiss stage
- All rounds in the Swiss stage are best-of-ones, with the prior season's best teams seeded ahead of the open qualifier teams
- The best eight teams advance to the playoffs, with the quarter-finals and semi-finals being best-of-threes and final being a best of five
Storm
- Top 4 from the Forge split, plus an LCP academy team and top top seven or eight teams from open qualifiers (depending on the performance of the LCP academy team), participate in a three-set "Storm Swiss" stage, consisting of best-of-ones
- During the first two rounds, teams face the teams with the same records. In the third round, as only 3 teams can have a 2–0 record and 3 teams can have a 0–2, one 1–1 team will be randomly drawn into the 2–0 group, while another 1–1 team will be randomly drawn into the 0–2 group.
- Teams receive points for each set separately based on that set's win-loss record: 5 points for a 3–0 record, 3 points for a 2–1 record, 1 point for a 1–2 record and none for a 0–3 record.
- The best six teams after accumulating points of the three sets advance to the playoffs, with the quarter-finals and semi-finals being best-of-threes and final being a best of five
- The top 2 teams earn a bye to the semi-finals
Ignite
- Top 4 from the Storm split, plus an LCP academy team and top top seven or eight teams from open qualifiers (depending on the performance of the LCP academy team), participate in a "Bounty" stage, lasting 6 rounds and consisting of best-of-ones
- Teams earn 10 points plus triple the number of wins of their opponent per win (maximum of 25 points) and 4 points per loss. These points will be added into the championship points for LJL Finals.
- After each round, the lowest-ranked teams choose their opponents for the next round
- The best six teams advance to the playoffs, with the quarter-finals and semi-finals being best-of-threes and final being a best of five
- The top 2 teams on points earn a bye to the semi-finals
LJL Finals
- The top six teams in championship points, earned from the regular season, participate in the LJL Finals
- Winner qualifies for the League of Legends Championship Pacific Promotion Playoffs and has a chance of entering the LCP as a guest team.
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Teams
Notable
As of 2025 season:
Former
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Past seasons
Notes
- Academy team of DetonatioN FocusMe, who compete in the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP).
- Announced as a partner team in the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP) in November 2024.
- Announced as a guest team in the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP) in November 2024. Their academy team currently competes in the LJL.
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References
External links
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