League of Legends Japan League
Japanese esport league
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
| |
| Game | League of Legends |
|---|---|
| First season | 2014 |
| Owners | Riot Games Japan PlayBrain |
| Motto | "Reforge as One" |
| No. of teams | 12–16 (regular season) 6 (LJL Finals) |
| Countries | Japan |
| Most recent champion | QT DIG∞ (1st title) |
| Most titles | DetonatioN FocusMe (16 titles) |
| Qualification | Franchise partnership(2019–2024)[1] Open qualifiers (2025–present) |
| Broadcaster | Twitch |
| Promotion to | League of Legends Championship Pacific (2025–present) |
| Official website | ljl |
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.
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 of each set, 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, a double-elimination bracket
- The top four teams start in the upper bracket, whilst 5th-6th start in the lower bracket
- All matches are best of fives
- Winner qualifies for the League of Legends Championship Pacific Promotion Playoffs and has a chance of entering the LCP as a guest team.
Teams
Notable
As of 2025 season:
| Team | ID |
|---|---|
| Burning Core Toyama | BCT |
| DetonatioN FocusMe Academy[a] | DFM.A |
| QT DIG∞[b] | QTD |
| REJECT | RC |
| V3 Esports | V3 |
| VARREL Youth | VLY |
| Yang Yang Gaming | YYG |
Former
Past seasons
| Year | Split | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 era (2014 - 2023) | ||||
| 2014 | Winter | Rascal Jester | Ozone Rampage | Okinawan Tigers |
| Spring | DetonatioN FocusMe | Rascal Jester | Ozone Rampage | |
| Summer | DetonatioN FocusMe | Ozone Rampage | Rascal Jester | |
| Grand Final | DetonatioN FocusMe | Rascal Jester | ||
| 2015 | Season 1 | DetonatioN FocusMe | DetonatioN RabbitFive | 7th heaven |
| Season 2 | Ozone Rampage | DetonatioN FocusMe | 7th heaven | |
| Grand Final | DetonatioN FocusMe | Ozone Rampage | ||
| 2016 | Spring | DetonatioN FocusMe | Rampage | Unsold Stuff Gaming |
| Summer | Rampage | DetonatioN FocusMe | 7th heaven | |
| 2017 | Spring | Rampage | DetonatioN FocusMe | Unsold Stuff Gaming |
| Summer | Rampage | DetonatioN FocusMe | 7th heaven | |
| 2018 | Spring | Pentagram | DetonatioN FocusMe | Unsold Stuff Gaming |
| Summer | DetonatioN FocusMe | Unsold Stuff Gaming | PENTAGRAM | |
| 2019 | Spring | DetonatioN FocusMe | Unsold Stuff Gaming | Crest Gaming Act |
| Summer | DetonatioN FocusMe | V3 Esports | Crest Gaming Act | |
| 2020 | Spring | DetonatioN FocusMe | Sengoku Gaming | V3 Esports |
| Summer | V3 Esports | DetonatioN FocusMe | Sengoku Gaming | |
| 2021 | Spring | DetonatioN FocusMe | V3 Esports | Rascal Jester |
| Summer | DetonatioN FocusMe | Rascal Jester | AXIZ | |
| 2022 | Spring | DetonatioN FocusMe | Sengoku Gaming | Rascal Jester |
| Summer | DetonatioN FocusMe | Sengoku Gaming | Fukuoka SHG | |
| 2023 | Spring | DetonatioN FocusMe | Sengoku Gaming | FENNEL Fukuoka SHG |
| Summer | DetonatioN FocusMe | Fukuoka SHG | Sengoku Gaming | |
| Tier 2 era (2024 - present) | ||||
| 2024 | Spring | Fukuoka SHG (PCS 2024 Spring Playoff #2) |
DetonatioN FocusMe (PCS 2024 Spring Playoff #7) |
V3 Esports (PCS 2024 Spring Playoff #10-11) |
| Summer | Fukuoka SHG (PCS 2024 Summer Playoff #2) |
DetonatioN FocusMe (PCS 2024 Summer Playoff #5-6) |
Sengoku Gaming (PCS 2024 Summer Playoff #10-11) | |
| 2025 | Forge | REJECT | VARREL Youth | Spirit Quartz Gaming |
| Burning Core Toyama | ||||
| Storm | REJECT | QT DIG∞ | DetonatioN FocusMe Academy | |
| Burning Core Toyama | ||||
| Ignite | REJECT | Burning Core Toyama | QT DIG∞ | |
| DetonatioN FocusMe Academy | ||||
| LJL Finals | QT DIG∞ | REJECT | DetonatioN FocusMe Academy | |
Notes
- Academy team of DetonatioN FocusMe, who compete in the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP).
- Formerly known as Sengoku Gaming.
- DetonatioN FocusMe's sister team.
- Formerly Rampage,
- Merged to AXIZ Crest in December 2023.
- 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.
- Merger between AXIZ and Crest Gaming Act.