The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseballs postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National League (NL) Division Series, and the winner of the NLCS wins the NL pennant and advances to the World Series, MLBs championship series, to play the winner of the American Leagues (AL) Championship Series. The NLCS began in 1969 as a best-of-five playoff and used this format until 1985, when it changed to a best-of-seven format. The NLCS and ALCS, since the expansion to seven games, 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 NL wild card is restricted to hosting second in both the NLDS and the NLCS. The NLCS is the final round of the National League playoffs that determines the winner of the National League Pennant.