Worlds 2020 Update: Format Changes
We are excited for Worlds 2020, and eager to wrap up an eventful League of Legends Esports season with our crown jewel global event in Shanghai starting September 25.
Earlier this month we shared with you [our plans for Worlds][1], but due to national travel restrictions related to COVID-19, our two qualifying teams from Vietnam will unfortunately be unable to travel to Shanghai to compete this season.
Over the past several weeks, we explored every possible option to include VCS teams while ensuring the safety of VCS players and the delivery of a world class event. VCS teams and VCS fans have been an irreplaceable fixture of Worlds, but in consideration of current circumstances, we have made the difficult decision to proceed without them this year. We look forward to seeing them next year, knowing that Vietnam will be that much more passionate to bring home a World Championship title.
As a result of these changes, we will have 22 rather than 24 teams challenging for the championship title this year.
We are incredibly disappointed on behalf of these teams who worked so hard all year for the chance to compete on the global stage. While it certainly will not replace the experience for them, we will be awarding them their full share of the prize pool as though they had participated in the event.
This also required us to adjust the format for the event to accommodate having fewer teams participating. We explored a variety of different formats to deliver the most compelling and exciting Play-In experience, with minimal impact to our broadcast schedule. We ultimately settled on condensing the Play-In Stage of the tournament to involve 10 teams instead of our usual 12.
The 10 Play-In teams will be split into two seeded groups of five teams each. Each of these groups will play a single round-robin cycle, with the first-place teams both advancing to the Group Stage, and the last place teams being eliminated. The third- and fourth-place teams in each group will play a best-of-five series, with the loser being eliminated and the winner advancing to a best-of five-series against the second-place team from the other group. The winners of those matches also will qualify for the Group Stage.
[1]: https://lolesports.com/article/2020-world-championship-starts-sept.-25/blt2237ab89da64fb68
To maintain an even number of teams in the Play-In, we also needed to automatically advance one team that was initially expected to start in the Play-In to the Group Stage. After evaluation of past regional performance at international events, we determined that it would be fairest to advance the third seed from the LCK.
While we typically prefer double round-robin formats to balance the impact of side selection, we were unable to find a format that would allow us to run a double round-robin for this many teams and still give teams the chance to compete in a best-of-five series for advancement. A single round-robin with a five-team group still allows us to ensure that each team gets an equal number of red and blue side games, and this format actually allows more teams than usual to experience the thrill of playing an elimination best-of-five series at Worlds.
**Mitigating Challenges**
Our goal is to ensure the 10th World Championship is a globally inclusive experience representative of the League of Legends community. Our internal teams have spent the year working with numerous agencies, governments, and industry stakeholders to ensure the health and safety of players and everyone participating in the event. However, if other adjustments may become necessary, we ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate through them.
Thank you for your continued support. We can’t wait to share what we have planned with you.
