The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseballs postseason. The ALCS determines the winner of the American League Pennant, and the winner of the ALCS advances to the World Series, MLBs championship series, to play the winner of the National Leagues Championship Series. The ALCS began in 1969 as a best-of-five playoff and used this format until 1985, when it changed to its current best-of-seven format. The ALCS is played between the winners of the American League Division Series (ALDS), where the first team to four wins is crowned the American League Champion. The ALCS and NLCS, since the expansion to best-of-seven, are always played in a 2–3–2 format: Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 are played in the stadium of the team that has home field advantage, and Games 3, 4, and 5 are played in the stadium of the team that does not. The series concludes when one team records its fourth win.