The International Wild Card teams have been causing a lot of surprises at the League of Legends World Championships, leading to questions about the tournament format. Many fans wonder why only two teams from outside of the EU, NA, South Korean, Chinese, and Taiwanese leagues are represented at Worlds. The International Wild Card circuit usually involves many teams from different regions, so why doesn’t Riot Games allow the best team from each region to participate and make Worlds more exciting?
The IWC playoffs included teams from Brazil, Russia, Japan, Latin America, Oceania, South East Asia, and Turkey. If the best team from each region was included, there would be greater diversity in fans, cultures, and playstyles, making the competition more interesting and appealing to a wider audience. However, there are concerns that prevent Riot Games from changing the format, which I will discuss later.
In order to expand and improve the tournament, Riot could make some simple changes for Worlds 2017, based on other large scale championships in and out of esports.
Possible Changes for Worlds 2017:
- Expand the number of teams from 16 to 24.
- Have six groups instead of four.
- The top two teams from each group and the two best third-placed teams progress to the last 16.
- In the event of a third-place tie, the team with the most KDA, gold lead, etc. progresses.
It would also be beneficial to allow LMS to have a third seed, matching EU LCS, NA LCS, LCK, and LPL third seeds. LMS has been around long enough and has had a World Championship-winning team. J Team, formerly Taipei Assassins, would have been a great addition to this year’s event.
The CB LOL region also deserves their own first and second seed, and potentially a third seed in future Worlds if successful. After multiple World Championship appearances, highlighting the CB LOL region similar to other regions would be appropriate.
The regional places for Worlds 2017 would be distributed as follows:
- EU LCS: Three
- NA LCS: Three
- LCK: Three
- LPL: Three
- LMS: Three
- CB LOL: Two
IWC Places:
- LAN (Latin America North): One
- LAS Sur (Latin America South): One
- TCL (Turkey): One
- OPL (Oceania): One
- LJL (Japan): One
- LCL (CIS): One
- GPL (South-East Asia): One
This format allows for future improvements and adjustments based on the success of the new format. As more regions gain IWC recognition, they could earn more slots like CB LOL, creating a truly global stage.
It is important to keep the IWC Regionals as a means for the IWC sides to fight for seeding. Creating an IWC League before Worlds for the seven IWC regions would be beneficial. The top four teams in each group would become second seeds in the competition, while the bottom three would remain as third seeds, joining EU, NA, LCK, LPL, and LMS third seeds. The CB LOL first seed would go into pot one, with the second seed going into pot two.
However, there are concerns about making changes to the current format. Questions arise about the number of games players are playing and whether they have enough rest from their regional schedules. There are also concerns about the lack of talent and entertainment with so many teams involved. However, if Riot wants to keep League of Legends as a stable sport, changes and improvements need to be made.
Look at Pokemon as an example. When sales declined, they introduced new changes to revitalize the series, and the same goes for sports. If the community is content with the current format, that’s okay. However, Riot should consider making improvements to benefit the esports scene and create a healthy infrastructure.
What changes would you like to see in the current Worlds format? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter.
Thank you for reading Monkey’s Musings. Let us know your thoughts and what you would like to see in future articles. Stay tuned for more content!
Adam Newell is a writer for GAMURS.com and can be contacted via email or Twitter:
Email: adam.newell@.com
Twitter: @MonkeyKingHero