League of Legends Worlds 2022: All information about the play-in phase [E-Sport]

With over 150 million monthly active players, League of Legends counts (buy now ) one of the most popular video games of today. The e-sports scene can also look back on constantly growing viewer numbers, which will celebrate its conclusion this year with Worlds 2022. The official world championship for League of Legends starts on September 29, 2022 with the preliminary round called play-in, in which twelve teams fight for the four remaining places in the upcoming group phase. In total, Worlds 2022 has a whopping $2.25 million in prize money, which will continue to increase as the tournament progresses through the sale of cosmetic content in League of Legends.

League of Legends Worlds 2022: The Play-In Format

As in classic sports tournaments, Worlds 2022 begins with a group format. While twelve teams were able to qualify directly for the group stage based on their performances in the regional leagues, another twelve teams are at stake in the preliminary tournament, also known as the play-in, for the remaining four places. The organizations will be divided into two groups of six teams each, from which only the first place will immediately qualify for the group phase starting on October 7th. For places two to four, however, the knockout format continues, in which the final participants in the main round of Worlds 2022 are then determined.

Of course, each team within the two groups competes against each other. In contrast to the group phase, each pairing is only played once here. If two or more teams have the same number of wins at the end of all the play-ins, the direct comparison decides, analogous to classic sport. For the teams themselves there is hardly any opportunity to catch their breath, as the schedule is tight.

Since the play-in is taking place in Mexico City this year, European fans have caught the most inconvenient times to start due to the time zone difference. The first games on each match day always start at 10 p.m., and the end of the broadcast is generally expected at 6 a.m. The official streams for Worlds 2022 will be provided by Riot Games on the associated Twitter – and Youtube channel made available, while for the German-language broadcast the Summoners Inn responsible.

League of Legends Worlds 2022: Play-In Group A

Group A definitely represents the more even block in this year’s play-in. While there are two slight favorites in European representative Fnatic and North American counterpart Evil Geniuses – and rekindling the classic rivalry between the two regions in the process – Detonation in particular are Not to be underestimated by FocusMe and Beyond Gaming after strong performances in the last two international tournaments. But LOUD and Chiefs E-Sports can also count on chances of progressing, but are more likely to be seen as outsiders.

League of Legends Worlds 2022: Play-In Group B

Group B, on the other hand, is seen as a group of death – at least for all teams that are not named Royal Never Give Up. The fourth team from China, which is represented at Worlds 2022, realistically has to fear at most DRX, who have washed all waters from the equally strong Korean league and also have a player in their ranks in Beryl who has already won the World Cup. Behind them, MAD Lions and Saigon Buffalo are likely to fight for the remaining spots, while Istanbul Wildcats and Isurus Gaming have nothing to lose.

Which teams will make it to the group stage of Worlds 2022? You can use the comment function to let us know what you think. You would need to be logged in to PCGH or the Extreme forums to comment. If you don’t have an account yet, you can consider registering for freewhich brings many advantages.