The 2023 League of Legends World Championship is underway, with the group stage having just concluded. This year features 22 teams from regions across the globe competing in the prestigious Worlds tournament to earn the summoner’s cup.
The top teams have risen through the Swiss format gauntlet and will now battle in best-of-one and best-of-five series where a single misstep could end their Worlds dreams. Strap in for more spectacular League of Legends action ahead!
16 teams from around the globe competing in the Swiss stage for a chance to advance to the knockout round. Only the top 8 teams will move on from the Swiss stage to the quarterfinals. With so few spots available, the competition is fierce as these 16 talented squads face off in best-of-one matches, jockeying for position in the standings.
After multiple intense rounds of Swiss stage play, the field will be whittled down to 8 triumphant teams that will battle in a single elimination bracket, with the ultimate goal of being crowned League of Legends world champions.
Swiss Stage System Explained
The 2023 League of Legends World Championship group stage implemented a new Swiss-style competition format, differing from the traditional round-robin approach used in years past. Riot Games adopted the Swiss format as an innovative way to handle grouping and seeding into the playoff bracket stage.
In a Swiss system format, teams are not divided into pre-set groups. Instead, pairing occurs each round based on teams’ current win-loss records. Teams with the same record face-off, while winners play winners and losers play losers in the next round. This allows competitors to play opponents with a similar level of success in each match.
The Swiss format allows all teams to play a fair number of four or five matches over the two-week group stage. The top two teams with the best records automatically advance to the knockout stage, while the sixth to eighth-place teams play tiebreaker games if needed to fill the remaining playoff spots.
This system aims to increase competitiveness compared to traditional groups, where uneven groups with “teams of death” could occur. It also reduces meaningless matches between teams with vastly different records. The Swiss system has been successful in creating evenly paired contests and keeping stakes high for all teams in each round of the group stage.
While the Swiss format is more complex than traditional grouping, it provided an exciting new twist for the Worlds 2023 group stage. With teams jockeying for position each round based on their current record, no matchups felt like forgone conclusions. This helped make the race to advance as tense and unpredictable as ever.
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Standings
After a few days of Swiss system play, the standings show Gen.G and JDG sitting atop the pack with undefeated 2-0 records, already securing their spots in the knockout round.
Meanwhile, several other teams find themselves in dire straits, still searching for their first win. Team BDS, Team Liquid Honda, Dplus Kia, and GAM Esports have all started 0-2, putting their tournament lives in jeopardy. With the unforgiving Swiss format, a slow start can be a death knell. These winless teams now face a treacherous uphill battle to remain in contention for the playoffs.
Every match takes on added gravity when you’re sitting at the bottom of the table. For these teams struggling to get on the board, each upcoming game is a must-win to avoid elimination. Their hopes of advancing out of groups and pursuing a world championship hang by a thread. Can they rally and turn their fortunes around in time? Or will their worlds dreams meet an abrupt end after just a handful of matches?
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Schedule
On October 23rd, two of the teams still searching for their first win will face off in must-win best-of-3 series to keep their Worlds dreams alive.
First, North American hopefuls Team Liquid take on Vietnam’s GAM Esports at 10:00 AM GMT+3 in a clash of winless squads. After disappointing early losses, Team Liquid is out to prove they deserve to be on the Worlds stage. For GAM, it’s a chance to play spoiler and demonstrate that the emerging VCS region can compete. This match represents the last gasp for one of these two teams.
Later at 1:00 PM, Europe’s Team BDS battles Dplus KIA from Korea, both entering at 0-2. BDS were bold contenders from the LEC but have stumbled out of the gates on the international stage. Dplus KIA are heavy underdogs but have a chance to score a momentous upset. Each team will give it their all to avoid the dreaded 0-3 hole that would leave them with almost no room for error moving forward.
It all comes down to this – conquer or go home. Tune in for the dramatic Round 3 action as teams on the brink battle to keep hope alive at Worlds 2023!
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Conclusion
The 2023 League of Legends World Championship group stage provided all the excitement and drama fans have come to expect from the premier LoL event of the year. The innovative Swiss system format implemented this time around delivered evenly matched contests and kept the race to advance unpredictable down to the wire.
Strap in, summoners. We’ve only just begun, and Worlds 2023 is set to deliver even more spectacular high-stakes action as champions are crowned and legends are made on the Rift.
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