Marc “Caedrel” Lamont is far from seduced by the LTA's Cross Conference format. On Monday, the streamer and founder of Los Ratones took a closer look at the American tournament bracket —a single-elimination Fearless Draft format that did not sit well with him. “Who made this shit? Not even the top four gets double elimination?” he questioned. His incomprehension only grew upon realizing that both the quarter-finals and semi-finals were played in BO3, with only the grand final—where a spot at First Stand, the year's first international event, is on the line—being played as a BO5.

“You get to one best of five for your fearless split. Are you serious? One! One best of five!” the British streamer exclaimed. With its BO3-heavy structure, the LTA features the fewest matches of any major region, with just a single BO5 across the entire bracket, encompassing both LTA North and LTA South. As highlighted by Sheep Esports on Monday, the first team eliminated from LTA South—Fluxo W7M—was knocked out after just four games (two 0-2 BO3 losses), marking the end of its Winter Split. In LTA North, Disguised and LYON barely fared any better, each playing just one additional game before their elimination.

Only format without a lower bracket

At most, an American team could play 21 games throughout the entire split—the same number of games a LEC team would play if it went undefeated all the way through the Winter Split. In theory, a team in the LCK or LPL could play even fewer games and still be crowned champion (19 in the LCK, 18 in the LPL) following a perfect run, but both leagues incorporate significantly more BO5s in their playoff structures. The LCK introduces BO5s as early as the playoffs, with up to four possible. Meanwhile, in China, even the group stage has been played in BO5.

The LEC and LCP implement BO5s at a later stage, starting from the third round of the playoffs. The Cross Conference also stands as the only format without a lower bracket, despite one being present in both LTA North and LTA South. Additionally, in the NLC—the Northern ERL where Los Ratones competes—BO5s are introduced later in the upper bracket (beginning with the UB final) but appear earlier in the lower bracket (starting from the LB quarter-finals). After winning its first BO5 in the upper bracket, LR has now qualified for the grand final, where it may face an opponent that has played twice as many BO5s.