League of Legends Worlds 2023: Format, location, and more

On January 10, 2023, Riot Games officially announced various details regarding League of Legends Worlds 2023. This includes details regarding the format and the location of the tournament.

This year's Worlds will see some minor changes being made to how it was previously. This is being done after feedback from fans and professional players worldwide, with some claiming that the tournament had become somewhat boring to watch.

The changes to the format for the League of Legends Worlds 2023 will give teams a chance to fight back after suffering devastating losses. This year, LEC and LCS teams might finally be able to redeem themselves if they end up getting demolished by LCK and LPL teams.

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Details regarding format and location for League of Legends Worlds 2023

The League of Legends Worlds 2023 will be held in South Korea in October. The last time it was held in this country was in 2018, when IG defeated Fnatic to become the World Champions.

The biggest attraction for Worlds 2023 will be the change in format. Details regarding the same have been provided below.

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Worlds 2023 Format

League of Legends Worlds 2023 will be divided into three sections: Play-ins, Swiss and Knockout stages. However, even before the Play-ins begin, there will be something known as the Worlds Qualifying Series (WQS).

In this series, the fourth-placed teams from LEC and LCS will compete in a best-of-five match for a place at the Worlds 2023. The winners will earn a ticket to the tournament, while the losing teams will go home.

The winner of the WQS, along with 21 other teams, will travel to the Worlds 2023. Out of the 22 teams, eight will participate in the Play-in stage.

Play-ins (Image via Riot Games)

The Play-in stage will comprise the following teams:

• Top 2 teams from VCS and PCS
• The best teams from LLA, CBLOL, LJL, and the winner of WQS

Teams directly participating in the Swiss stage are as follows:

• 4 seeds from LPL and LCK
• 3 seeds from LEC and LCS

The Play-in stage at Worlds 2023 will feature four-team double-elimination brackets. Out of those, only two teams will qualify for the Swiss stage. Each group will have a best-of-three double-elimination bracket.

The upper winner from one group will then face off against the lower winner from the other group in a best-of-five match for a chance at the Swiss stage.

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Swiss stage

Swiss Stage (Image via Riot Games)

The Swiss stage is a new addition to the League of Legends Worlds 2023. In this stage, teams will have to compete in a five-round Swiss-style format where those with similar win-loss records will be paired against one another.

Each team will be randomly placed against another team from the same region and play best-of-one games. During Round 2, teams with similar win-loss records will be pitted against each other.

Those with a 1-0 record in Round 1 will play against teams with the same record in Round 2. After five rounds, the teams with three wins will proceed to the knockout stage, while the team with three losses will be eliminated from the League of Legends Worlds 2023.

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Knockout stage

The final eight teams that qualify for the knockout stage at League of Legends Worlds 2023 will have to play standard best-of-five games in the quarterfinals, semi-finals, and final. No format changes have been introduced for the Knockout stages.

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The format for League of Legends Worlds 2023 certainly looks interesting. This will create several high-stakes scenarios, cross-regional games, and a chance to make a comeback in case of a poor start.

While double elimination is what fans initially asked for, the Swiss style is the second-best option for a fair tournament.