Riot Games has officially announced that Worlds 2023 will take place in South Korea after months of speculation!
In 2018 and 2014, South Korea last hosted the Worlds. Invictus Gaming, an LPL organisation, won the title in 2018. Additionally, none of the LCK clubs finished in the top four that year.
During Worlds 2014, the host area was more successful as Samsung White defeated Star Horn Royal Club 3-1 to win the championship.
The Worlds in 2023 will also have a new format. The Play-In, Swiss, and Knockout Stages each include 22 teams competing against one another. The Worlds Qualifying Series is another new method for teams to qualify for the Worlds.
The Play-In Stage will serve as the starting point for eight teams.
The top team from LLA, CBLOL, LJL, and the WQS champion will join the top two teams from VCS and PCS.
Teams will be paired in four double-elimination brackets for the Play-Ins. Each game will be a best-of-three scenario.
Best-of-five brackets will be used to decide which top two teams advance to the Swiss Stage.
The Swiss stage will have 16 teams in total.
The top four teams from the LPL and LCK, as well as the top three teams from the LEC and LCS, will begin the tournament in the Swiss stage, along with the two teams who qualified via the Play-Ins.
There will be a five-round Swiss-style competition. Teams who have identical win-loss records will face off against one another until one of them has three victories or three defeats.
Teams will be matched up at random in the first round to play a best-of-one game against another team from a different area.
