The biggest League of Legends tournament of the year is just around the corner, but before we can get into the action on September 25 in Shanghai, Riot Games held the draws for the play-in and group stages ahead of the first round of matches.
Always one of the major highlights of the year, the League of Legends World Championships pit the best teams from across the planet in head-to-head competition, with the winner’s crowned as the best squad in the world, and awarded with the prestigious Summoner’s Cup.
The action comes thick and fast once the tournament begins, with teams from the Americas, Europe, China, Korea, Japan, and more all set to descend on Shanghai, China for the month-long competition with serious bragging rights on the line.
This year, three-time World Champions T1 and their legendary midlaner Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok missed the cut for Worlds after losing the LCK Regional Qualifier against Gen.G, while reigning World Champions FunPlus Phoenix also fell in their qualifying match against Invictus Gaming, who also missed out.
LoL Worlds 2020 Play-In Groups
Two draws took place on September 15, with the ten teams who are competing in the play-in stages drawn into two groups of five teams, with the two from each pool progressing to the group stages. You can take a look at the two groups below.
| Group A | Group B |
| Team Liquid (LCS) | LGD Gaming (LPL) |
| MAD Lions (LEC) | PSG Talon (PCS) |
| Legacy Esports (OPL) | V3 Esports (LJL) |
| Papara SuperMassive (TCL) | Unicorns of Love (LCL) |
| INTZ Esports (CBLOL) | Rainbow7 (LLA) |
LoL Worlds 2020 Groups
Once the four teams have booked their place from the play-in stage, they will join the 12 that directly qualified from the representative leagues, including LEC Champions G2, LCS winners Team SoloMid, and Damwon Gaming and Top Esports who took home the crowns from the LCK and LPL respectively.
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The group stages are seeded, with the league winners taking the top spot in their sections at Worlds. You can view them in full below.
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| G2 Esports (LEC) | Damwon Gaming (LCK) | Team SoloMid (LCS) | Top Esports (LPL) |
| Suning (LPL) | JD Gaming (LPL) | Fnatic (LEC) | DeagonX (LCK) |
| Machi Esports (PCS) | Rogue (LEC) | Gen.G (LCK) | FlyQuest (LCS) |
| TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
What is the format for Worlds 2020?
Unlike previous years, 22 teams will be competing for the Summoner’s Cup at Worlds 2020, with 10 teams competing in the play-in stage compared to the normal 12. Because of this, Riot has split the 10 play-in teams into two seeded groups of five, who will play a single round-robin cycle, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the group stages, and the remaining squads heading for the airport.
The group stages will then consist of four groups including the play-in winners, who will compete to try and make it to the tournament’s main bracket as they attempt to be crowned the world’s best.