League of Legends Swiss Stage: Day 1 Recap and Day 2 Schedule Revealed
The first day of the experimental Swiss stage at the League of Legends World Championship has concluded, setting the stage for an exciting second day. Unlike traditional formats, the Swiss stage features regular schedule updates and matches between teams with similar records. The teams that secure three wins advance to the next round, while those with three losses get eliminated.
Interestingly, the end-of-day draws for the next day’s schedule are just as intriguing as the matches themselves. Today’s draw for the second day of the Swiss stage resulted in many intra-regional matchups, sparking discussions among League of Legends fans.
According to a thread on the official League subreddit, the region that had the most favorable draw for the second day was EMEA, while the region with the least favorable draw was Korea. This sentiment is widely agreed upon by fans, and we tend to concur.
Despite their initial losses, LEC teams BDS and Fnatic have favorable matchups on the second day against MAD Lions and GAM Esports, respectively. G2, who won their first-day game, will face China’s fourth-seeded Weibo Gaming, another favorable draw.
Korea, on the other hand, faces two challenging intra-regional matchups: Gen.G versus T1 on the 1-0 side and KT versus Dplus KIA on the 0-1 side.
One of the most surprising outcomes of the Swiss draw is that five intra-regional matchups were drawn, pitting teams who are already familiar with each other from the regular season against each other at Worlds.
Intra-Regional Matchups on Day 2 of the Swiss Stage
- NRG vs. Team Liquid (LCS)
- MAD Lions vs. BDS (LEC)
- Gen.G vs. T1 (LCK)
- JD Gaming vs. Bilibili Gaming (LPL)
- KT Rolster vs. Dplus KIA (LCK)
Among these matchups, the most intriguing is KT Rolster vs. Dplus KIA, which has disappointed Korean League fans. Both teams were expected to perform well in the tournament, but after their upcoming match, one of them will be on the verge of elimination with a 0-2 record. Losing three matches in the Swiss stage means being knocked out of the tournament completely. In the regular season, KT had the upper hand, winning three out of four matches against Dplus (6-3 in individual games). The losing team will have to stage a remarkable comeback by winning three consecutive best-of-threes to keep their tournament hopes alive.
Another significant matchup is JD Gaming vs. Bilibili Gaming, which was the final of the 2023 Mid-Season Invitational. JD Gaming has had a dominant record against Bilibili, winning all seven matches between them this season. In terms of individual games, JD Gaming has a 19-5 advantage over Bilibili in 2023. Given their familiarity with each other, we believe JD Gaming has the edge in a best-of-one scenario.
While it may be disheartening to see so many “civil wars” on day two of the Swiss stage, this actually decreases the likelihood of teams from the same region facing each other in the best-of-three portion. As the tournament progresses, teams on the verge of elimination or qualification for the knockouts will transition from best-of-ones to best-of-threes in the qualifying round. Therefore, the early intra-regional matches reduce the chances of later rematches in the Swiss stage.
The League of Legends World Championship will resume tomorrow, October 20th, with an intra-regional matchup between NRG and Team Liquid at 12am CT.
League of Legends, Swiss stage, World Championship, intra-regional matchups, EMEA, Korea, favorable draw, regular season, knockout stage, best-of-threes, elimination, tournament hopes, NRG, Team Liquid, MAD Lions, BDS, Gen.G, T1, JD Gaming, Bilibili Gaming, KT Rolster, Dplus KIA