The LPL still has two spots open for October's World Championship, and those spots account for half of the remaining unknown seeds. Both will be determined in a span of two days during the fourth annual Chinese League of Legends Regional Final.

The Format

The LPL's Regional Qualifier doesn't take the form of a gauntlet like other regions. Instead, the tournament is a double elimination bracket. The first round will be a best-of-three, but all subsequent rounds are best-of-fives. The second seed will be determined by the upper bracket final on Friday, and the third seed will be determined by the lower bracket final on Saturday. Ceremonies, cosplay shows, and panels will take place between matches.

It's also worth noting that the patch on which Regionals are played has yet to be declared. Though Patch 5.15 seems likely, Chinese Regionals last year was the first tournament to debut a new patch on which other competitive games had not yet been played elsewhere in the world.

Friday, September 4:

01:00AM Opening Ceremony

01:20AM Qiao Gu vs Invictus Gaming (Best of 3)

03:55AM Edward Gaming vs Snake (Best of 3)

06:25AM Upper Bracket Final (Best of 5) — winner earns second seed

Saturday, September 5:

01:00AM Saturday Opening Ceremony

01:10AM Lower Bracket Semifinal (Best of 5)

05:55AM Lower Bracket Final (Best of 5) — winner earns third seed

Participants

The LPL Regional Qualifier features the Top 4 point earners from the 2015 Chinese LPL and LSPL season below LGD Gaming, the team that already qualified for the World Championship as China's first seed. The final point totals from the season are as follows:

Team Points Regionals Seed LGD Gaming 650 Qualified for Worlds Edward Gaming 400 1 Qiao Gu Reapers 330 2 Invictus Gaming 250 3 Snake 140 4

Edward Gaming

Top: Tong "Koro1" Yang

Jungle: Ming "Clearlove" Kai

Mid: Heo "pawN" Wonseok

ADC: Kim "Deft" Hyukkyu

Support: Tian "Meiko" Ye

Not many expected to see Edward Gaming making the trip to Shenzhen for the LPL Regional Qualifier. After dominating most of 2015 and claiming first place at the Riot Games MidSeason Invitational, Edward Gaming fell hard in the LPL Summer Playoffs, losing six of seven games en route to a fourth place finish.

Edward Gaming are still the favorites to qualify, with their strong jungler and self-sufficient solo lane dynamic built around their bottom lane. One of their greatest strengths may be in their warding from behind that boosts their Teleport flanks, but Edward Gaming often hit hard and fast with the largest average gold lead at 20 minutes in wins of any LPL team. It's been shotcaller Clearlove's dream to win Worlds since he started playing LoL competitively, and he's not going down without a fight.

Recent coverage:

18 and 4: How the team most beaten by Edward Gaming overcame them

Interview with Clearlove

The Confident Call: Edward Gaming's possible mental hangups

Qiao Gu Reapers

Top: Bao "V" Bo

Jungle: Baek "Swift" Dahoon

Mid: Kim "Doinb" Taesang

ADC: Yu "TnT" Rui

Support: Zhang "TcT" Hongwei

The Qiao Gu Reapers appeared as LPL Summer's darlings, playing team fights expertly and placing second overall in both the regular season and the playoffs. Their unexpectedly tight final series with LGD Gaming revealed a lot of preparation. Swift played much more powerfully in the early game than he had for quite some time, and every member of the team excelled in mid and late game tussles.

China's Reapers have a tendency to fall behind early and suffer in the laning phase. That doesn't make them pushovers, as their late game team fighting and ability to close games after securing a first Baron are nearly unmatched. If Qiao Gu Reapers do get ahead, it's unlikely they'll lose control, and the team play of this group can't be underestimated.

Recent coverage:

Qiao Gu Reapers house tour

Interviews with Doinb, TnT, and TcT

Setting Qiao Gu apart from LPL Spring's Snake

Invictus Gaming

Top: Liu "Zzitai" Zhihao

Jungle: Lee "KaKAO" Byungkwon

Mid: Song "Rookie" Euijin

ADC: Ge "Kid" Yan

Support: Liu "Kitties" Hongjun

KaKAO and Invictus Gaming's Chinese players have more than just their current rosters in common. For two years, both have had high expectations only to come up short at Worlds qualification. A big part of this is their young age and inconsistencies, but when they're on point, they're shockingly efficient.

Invictus Gaming's defeat of Edward Gaming in the playoffs' third place match showed that iG had had enough. No team has taken as many beatings at the hands of EDG as iG, and they finally figured out how to stop the pain. iG's mid-centric playstyle comes out in the late game, but their top laner pulls early game pressure. If Zzitai gets ahead, iG's games become easier, but the biggest variable is KaKAO's decision to come out and play. When motivation hits, iG soars, but that's always been their biggest hurdle.

Recent coverage:

The pattern of Invictus Gaming

18 and 4: How the team most beaten by Edward Gaming overcame them

"I" is for "Inconsistent": The risks that come with betting on Invictus

Snake

Top: Li "Flandre" Xuanjun

Jungle: Kim "Beast" Joohyun

Jungle: Liu "Zzr" Yuan

Mid: Ceng "U" Long

ADC: Tan "Martin" Qi

Support: Kwok "Ella" Hoonkwak

No team has changed their approach as radically this year as Snake. From bottom lane to top lane centric, from stagnant to radically experimental, Snake have evolved. They started out overly reliant on late game team fighting and became one of the top five fastest game closers in the league.

Snake's problems still revolve around the laning phase and mid game transition calls, but their strengths are all about the unlikely partnership between Flandre and U. Resource heavy and daring, top laner Flandre takes the risky dives to make plays and carry while U reels in nearly lost games to close them out with surprising team fighting from behind. After spending half a season on EDG's bench, U has a lot to prove, and Snake's opening match against a recently shaken Edward Gaming gives him his best shot so far.

Recent coverage:

With or without U: The obstacles in Snake's LPL climb

Flandre uncut: Defining Snake's carry top laner

Snake's solo lane integration: A winning dynamic derived from dichotomy

Based on track record, I believe Edward Gaming and Snake are the two strongest teams in the tournament, but following Snake's path through the gauntlet, Invictus Gaming's drafting may give them an edge in the matchup. My picks to go to Worlds based on the bracket are Edward Gaming and Qiao Gu Reapers, but this week's matches are sure to bring surprises.

Kelsey Moser is a staff writer for theScore eSports. You can follow her on Twitter.