Everything you need to know about the Worlds 2023 Play-Ins, which will kick off on October 8 with the Worlds Qualifying Series.
League of Legends 2023 World Championship is starting in little over a week with the Play-In Stage. For the first time in many years, Worlds 2023 will be played in a different format than the previous events, including the Play-Ins. The biggest change to the Play-In Stage is the number of major region teams competing in it. While previously there were four or five teams from the four big regions, in 2023 there will only be one of these teams—winner of the Worlds Qualifying Series 2023 between LEC and LCS.
Other than that the Play-In format is pretty similar to previous years, but with brackets replacing the regular groups. Eight teams are divided into two double elimination brackets. In the end, the upper bracket winner of one side will face the lower bracket winner of the other side, and two winners of these series will advance to the Main Event. The Bracket games will be best-of-threes, while the Qualification games are Bo5s.
The eight teams competing in the Play-In Stage are:
- PSG Talon (PCS #1)
- CTBC Flying Oyster (PCS #2)
- GAM Esports (VCS #1)
- BDS/Golden Guardians (WQS #1)
- Team Whales (VCS #2)
- Detonation FocusMe (LJL #1)
- LOUD (CBLOL #1)
- Movistar R7 (LLA #1)
Worlds 2023 Play-In Schedule
Sunday, October 8
- Worlds Qualifying Series 2023
- Team BDS vs Golden Guardians|9 p.m. PST / 6 a.m. CET*
Tuesday, October 10
- Bracket A Round 1
- Movistar R7 vs PSG Talon|12 a.m. PST / 9 a.m. CET
- LOUD vs GAM Esport|3 a.m. PST / 12 p.m. CET
Wednesday, October 11
- Bracket B Round 1
- DetonatioN FocusMe vs CTBC Flying Oyster|12 a.m. PST / 9 a.m. CET
- BDS/Golden Guardians vs Team Whales|3 a.m. PST / 12 p.m. CET
Thursday, October 12
- TBD vs TBD|12 a.m. PST / 9 a.m. CET
- TBD vs TBD|3 a.m. PST / 12 p.m. CET
Friday, October 13
- TBD vs TBD|12 a.m. PST / 9 a.m. CET
- TBD vs TBD|3 a.m. PST / 12 p.m. CET
Saturday, October 14
- TBD vs TBD|12 a.m. PST / 9 a.m. CET
- TBD vs TBD|3 a.m. PST / 12 p.m. CET
- TBD vs TBD|8 p.m. PST / 5 a.m. CET*
Sunday, October 15
- TBD vs TBD|1 a.m. PST / 10 a.m. CET
*Indicates the next day.
How to watch Worlds 2023 Play-Ins
Fans can watch every game of Worlds 2023 on the official LoL Esports website, Riot Games Twitch channel or the LoL Esports Youtube channel. Also for the first time in Worlds history, a number of content creators selected by Riot around the world will be able to costream the event.
For more of our coverage of the Worlds 2023 Play-in Stage and the Main Event, you can follow us on ESTNN.
