League of Legends: Riot Games reveal 2023 schedule; Worlds format changed

"South Korea has held two world championships up to now, in 2014 and 2018. 2023 will be the third time.

The 2022 Worlds had a double round-robin play-in stage and group stage, and a Bo5 single-elimination tournament starting from the quarterfinals. However, in 2023, the play-ins will be in a double-elimination format, and the group stage in a Swiss format.

There will be 22 teams participating in Worlds 2023. 21 of the teams will be decided based on the seeds per region, and the 22nd team will be determined through a Worlds Qualifying Series. In this series, the 4th seeds of the LEC and LCS will face off in a Bo5 match for the final ticket to Worlds.

The winner of the Worlds Qualifying Series will start from the play-in stage, along with seven teams from the VCS, PCS, LLA, CBLOL, and LJL. These eight teams will face each other in two double-elimination groups to decide the final teams advancing to the Swiss Stage.

The LCK and LPL will feature four teams each, while LEC and LCS will send three teams, all heading straight to the 16-team Swiss Stage. The Swiss Stage will consist of five rounds, where teams will battle until teams with three wins or three losses appear.

The Swiss Stage will begin with random matchups against different regions. Each team will play a Bo1 match in the first round. In the second round, winners will face winners, and losers will face losers. In the third round, teams that are 2-0 will face each other in a Bo3 match, where winners will advance to the knockout stage. 1-1 teams will face each other as well in a Bo1 format. 0-2 teams will play against each other in a Bo3 elimination match. All matches that decide advance or elimination are in Bo3.

The knockout stage will be in the traditional single-elimination tournament in Bo5.

Meanwhile, the 2023 Mid-Season Invitational will be held in London, United Kingdom. This is the first time MSI will be held in London. MSI 2023 will begin May 2 and will conclude with the grand finals on May 21.

Originally, there were 11 teams for the MSI, but this year, MSI will feature 13 teams. The major regions, LCK, LPL, LEC, and LCS will send two teams each, while VCS, PCS, CBLOL, LLA, and LJL will send one team each. As the 2022 World Champions, the runner-up from the spring split will head straight to the last 8.

In the play-in stage of MSI, eight teams will fight to decide three survivors. Like Worlds, they will play in a Bo3 double-elimination format in two groups. The 1st place teams from each group and the winner of the losers' final will advance to the bracket stage. The bracket stage will also be in a double-elimination format, playing Bo5 matches, which will lead up to the grand finals on May 21.