It’s that time of year again. This biggest League of Legends event of the season is here with everything on the line. With 12 teams already confirmed for the main event group stage, a further 12 teams had to battle it out in play-ins for the final 4 spots available.
Play-In Format
Format
- Group Stage (Round 1)
- 12 teams participate
- Teams are drawn into four groups based on seeding
- Double Round Robin
- Matches are best of one
- Top two teams from each group advance to Round 2
- Knockout Stage (Round 2)
- 8 teams participate
- 1st place teams from the group stage each face a 2nd place team
- Matches are best of five
- Winners advance to the Main Event
How the play-in groups shaped up
Group A
- Clutch Gaming (North America #3)
- Unicorns of Love (CIS #1)
- MAMMOTH (Oceania #1)
Group B
- Splyce (Europe #3)
- Isurus Gaming (Latin America #1)
- DetonatioN FocusMe (Japan #1)
Group C
- Hong Kong Attitude (LMS #3)
- Lowkey Esports (Vietnam #2)
- MEGA (Southeast Asia #1)
Group D
- DAMWON Gaming (Korea #3)
- Royal Youth (Turkey #1)
- Flamengo eSports (Brazil #1)
With two teams from each group advancing to the Knockout Stage, a loss at any point could crush a team’s hopes and dreams.
The following teams advanced to the Knockout Stage (Round 2):
- Clutch Gaming,
- Unicorns of Love,
- Splyce,
- Isurus Gaming,
- Hong Kong Attitude,
- Lowkey Esports,
- DAMWON Gaming,
- Royal Youth
Knockout Stage
Some of the remaining teams had huge expectations weighing over them. Whilst others were honestly proud to have made it this far and were just pushing to see how far they could make it. Some tiebreakers had to take place to determine seeding for the knockout matches. These were best of 5 series with the winner advancing, and the loser being sent home.
Knockout Stage Results
- DAMWON Gaming 3 – 1 Lowkey Esports
- Clutch Gaming 3 – 0 Royal Youth
- Hong Kong Attitude 3 – 1 Isurus Gaming
- Splyce 3 – 2 Unicorns of Love
It’s fair to say most of the results were expected however there was a scare of Splyce fans in their series against Unicorns of Love.
Main Event Groups Confirmed
With the play-ins ending, the official main event groups could be confirmed. See below.
Group A
G2 Esports
Griffin
Cloud 9
Hong Kong Attitude
Group B
FunPlus Phoenix
J Team
GAM Esports
Splyce
Group C
SK Telecom T1
Fnatic
Royal Never Give Up
Clutch Gaming
Group D
Team Liquid
Ahq e-Sports Club
Invictus Gaming
DAMWON Gaming
