League of Legends: the World Cup returns to South Korea with a new qualifying format | Explained | LoL | Worlds 2023 | MSI | Spain | Mexico | USA | TECHNOLOGY

This year, the League of Legends World Cup, known as Worlds 2023, and the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) will receive changes to their competition format.

Worlds 2023 and the MSI are the two highest caliber tournaments of the Riot Games video game, League of Legends. This edition, the World Cup will return to South Korea, the country of origin of last year’s winning team, DRX. Here we explain how both tournaments will be, as published by Riot.

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Mid-Season Invitational 2023: New Format Explained

This year, the Mid-Season Invitational will develop in London from May 2 to 21. To start, the number of participating teams will increase from 11 to 13. With this new number, MSI will adopt a new competition format. with two double elimination phases: the Play-in Stage and the Bracket Stage (Key phase).

There will be two representatives from each of the main regions (LCK, LEC, LCS, LPL); while the rest of the regions will have a single representative (LLA, CBLOL, PCS, VCS, LJL).

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In the Play-Ins phase Eight teams will participate: the second places from the LEC, LCS and LPL, and the first places from LLA, CBLOL, PCS, VCS and LJL.

The eight teams will be divided into two groups of fourcompeting with each other to the best of three to double elimination. Only three teams will make it to the Bracket Stage. Here you can better see what the Play-Ins stage will be like.

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The two high key winners go straight to the next phase, while the winners of the low key (redemption key) compete in the best of five for the last quota for the Bracket Stage.

For their part, the two South Korean teams advance directly to the Bracket Stage, for hosting the world champions last year. Just like the top spots from the LEC, LCS, and LPL. So, it’s five teams that advance directly to the Bracket Stage.

• Phase of Keys (Bracket Stage)

In this stage, the eight qualified teams compete in a double-elimination bracket format with best-of-five matches. With this system of high key and low key, the MSI champion will be determined after a total of 14 matches.

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Worlds 2023: new format explained

This edition of the LoL World Cup will be held in South Korea.

To start, the fourth places of LEC and LCS they will compete for a spot at Worlds 2023. This form of qualifier is currently restricted to just two regions, but Riot hopes to expand it to more in the future.

22 teams will participate in the World Cup. Eight of them will start their journey in the play-in phase: the top two from VCS and PCS along with the top two from LLA, CBLOL, LJL and the winner of WQS.

this phase will divide the teams into four double-elimination brackets, with each game best of three. The last two keys will determine the best of five the two teams that advance to the next phase.

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16 teams participate in the Swiss stage: The two qualifiers from the Play-Ins along with the top four from the LPL and LCK, and the top three from the LEC and LCS.

there will be five rounds swiss style where “teams with the same win-loss ratio will compete against each other until they reach 3 wins or 3 losses”.

In the first round, the teams will be randomly paired, always from different regions, competing to the best of one. In the second round, the teams in will face those with their same record (this will continue for five rounds).

In the end, those who accumulate three wins advance to the Knockouts phase (Qualifiers), while teams with three losses are out of the tournament.

Only eight teams advance to the Knockouts.

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• Knockouts Phase (Eliminatory)

this phase has not changed to previous editions. The eight teams compete in a single-elimination bracket with quarterfinals, semifinals and the final.

All matches are best of five and the winner will be the 2023 LoL World Champion.