LoL esports announces Japan’s LJL will join Oceania in PCS playoffs for Worlds entry

League of Legends esports has announced that Japan’s LJL will join Oceania in participating in the Pacific Championship Series playoffs for their chance at Worlds and MSI.

The League of Legends World Championship for 2023 has come and gone. With Korean favorites T1 taking home a convincing 3-0 victory against Chinese team Weibo Gaming. With their monumental victory, T1 takes home their 4th Worlds title, with Faker truly being crowned as the goat.

Gaining entry into Worlds is no easy feat as well, as teams from all across the globe battle it out to even have a chance to compete. Unfortunately, this means certain minor regions can miss out on ever breaching into the competition. With regions like Oceania missing the cut after being required to play in the PCS to qualify.

Now Riot is adding another region into the Pacific Championship Series, with Japan’s LJL entering the scene.

Riot announces LJL to join LCO in PCS playoffs for Worlds entry

Riot announced that the League of Legends Japan League will need to participate in the PCS playoffs if they’d like to attend Worlds. According to the blog post, this change is part of a “multi-year strategy for strengthening the LoL Esports ecosystem in the APAC region.”

As a result, the PCS playoffs have been adjusted to accommodate the change. Now the top 6 teams from their region will be joined by the top 3 teams from the LJL and the top 2 teams from the LCO.

Despite joining the PCS for playoffs, the LJL will still maintain its regular seasons held in Japan, similar to how the LCO operates. However, seeding for Worlds and MSI was not announced.

The changes have been considered quite controversial by players, but Riot feels strongly that this change is an “essential step in achieving a sustainable future for the league.”