SUPERLIGA SPRING SPLIT – League of Legends Preview

The League of Legends Superliga Spring Split is back for 2023. Recognized as one of the most prestigious LoL esports competitions in Spain, it sees a collection of the nation’s best teams compete in a league format. Kicking off on 16 January 2023, let us take a closer look at what to expect from this tournament. 

The teams competing at Superliga Spring Split 2023

Ten teams will compete at the Superliga Spring Split for this year’s competition. These teams are: 

• Barça eSports
• BISONS ECLUB
• Fnatic TQ 
• Giants
• Guasones Team 
• KOI Academy
• Movistar Riders 
• Rebels Gaming 
• Team Heretics Academy 
• UCAM Esports Club 

Fnatic TQ are aiming to successfully defend the title they won during the 2022 edition of the Superliga. BISONS ECLUB, the team that Fnatic TQ beat in the final with a 4:0 clean sweep, will be searching for revenge, while Barça eSports – FC Barcelona’s esports team – are pushing to improve on their third-place finish.

With Flakked, one of Spain’s top LoL players, part of their five-person team, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that Team Heretics Academy are favored to win the title in 2023. The betting odds also suggest Movistar Riders and KOI Academy are in with a great chance of walking home with the first-place prize, while Giants can be earmarked as a dark horse to keep an eye on.

How the Superliga Spring Split works

If you’re a newcomer to the LoL Superliga Spring Split, you might be wondering about the format of this competition. It includes a combination of a group stage and playoffs, and this is how it works: 

Group stage

The group stage is a double round robin. This means that each team ends up playing 18 matches in total (two against each opposing team), and each match is a best of one. The first group games are played on 16 January 2023.  

Once the group stage is concluded, the bottom four teams will be eliminated from the tournament. The first and second place teams qualify automatically to the Winners’ Finals for the playoffs. Third-sixth place teams are entered into the Losers’ Round one for the playoffs.

Playoffs

The playoffs see each match being a best of five. The Winners bracket sees the top two seeds against each other.

In the Losers bracket for the quarter finals, the matchups are as followed: 

• Third place (Group stage) vs Fifth/Sixth place (Group stage)
• Fourth place (Group stage) vs Fifth/Sixth place (Group stage)

The winners of these quarter finals will then play each other in the semifinal. The losers bracket final is as followed: 

• Winners bracket loser vs Losers bracket semifinal winner

The Grand Final, scheduled for 1 April 2023, sees the Winners bracket winner take on the Losers bracket final winner. 

Prize pool 

Below are the financial rewards and points for the participants in this year’s Superliga Spring tournament:

Along with points and financial prizes up for grabs, the two teams that reach the Grand Final qualify for the EMEA Masters.