Play-In Round 1 - September 25th - 28th - Ten teams are divided into two groups where they play a Single Round Robin format. - All matches are played in a Bo1. - Top teams in each group advance to Group Stage. - 2nd, 3rd and 4th teams in each group advance to Play-In: Round 2. - Bottom team in each group is eliminated.
Play-In Round 2 - September 29th - 30th - Six teams from Play-In: Round 1. - The 3rd and 4th placed teams of the same group of Round 1 face each other, winners compete against the 2nd placed team of the other group - All matches are played in a Bo5. - Two winners will advance to Group Stage. - Four losers will be eliminated.
Group Stage - October 3rd - 6th & 8th - 11th - Four teams from the Play-In Stage join twelve teams with direct entry from China, South Korea, Europe, North America and Southeast Asia. - All sixteen teams are divided into four groups where they play a Double -Round Robin format. - All matches are played in a Bo1. - Top two teams in each group advance to Playoffs. - Bottom two teams in each group are eliminated.
Playoffs - October 15th - 18th | 24th - 25th | 31st (Shanghai) -Eight teams play in a single-elimination bracket over five matchdays. -All matches are Bo5.
After the draw my predictions are MAD and LGD top their groups and instantly get out, TL and UoL get second, so TL vs Talon and UoL vs Supermassive for the other two spots
And with that NA's hope to advance out of groups is confirmed zero. Zero chance TSM makes it out over Fnatic/Gen.G and Fly is dead on arrival with Top and DRX.
Even with the assumption Liquid makes it out of Play Ins, they're forced into A or B, which isn't going to possible either
Group A: Looks fairly easy for G2 and SN, because 4th spot will not be a KR, CN or EU team. Group B: 2 of my top 3 teams in one group, but this isn't going to be a group of death so they shouldn't be worried. Poor RGE. Group C: FNC and GenG probably prefer each other over the likes of TES/DWG/JDG. Since LGD is likely going to be in this group, it's actually the toughest group to get out of, most evenly matched group at Worlds. Group D: TES gold lead @ 20 min vs DRX is good indicator for how likely they are going to win Worlds.
Top 2 teams EU got fairly easy draws, CN and KR likely to get 3 seeds through, NA only have one realistic chance to make it out of groups (Group C), since TL will end up in Group A (hard) or B (impossible).
On September 15 2020 22:30 Gahlo wrote: Gotta say, having 4 China and 4 EU makes group structure really rigid and predictable, kinda takes some of the spectacle off of group draws.
I agree, but I understand why they had to do it this way given no MSI and no VCS teams. Next year should be back to normal from my understanding.
Looking forward to see someone crash and burn in TSM vs Fnatic. Dream scenario would be GenGarbage sneakily replacing Gen.G and both Western teams advancing, but it's hard to be that optimistic.
Talon is having a hard time with Visas and quarantine, so they've gotten Unified and Kongyue from ahq and dee from machi as a substitute. From the looks of it Dee will have to play for Unified for a match or two as well, then the roster gets back together for the main event should they qualify.
Sucks for Talon in general, and sucks for the other teams in their group that LGD is also there so they're unlikely to get 1st and capitalize on the weakness. Also the message specifically thanks Flash Wolves, who I thought dissolved as an organization? Seems super weird they stuck around the scene but didnt even try to get into PCS
Good question, I wondered too. The macro is better on high mmr KR than the super server, and watching streams it becomes apparent there's an unholy number of otp players. Seeing Fiora and Kata every second game kind of blows. There are also a fair number of games I've seen where it really does feel like one person is either boosted or griefing.
Games are still fun to watch, there's a lot of crazy mechanics, and it's good lane practice. I'm personally surprised how Bjerg seems to win lane and even macro almost every game, nothing flashy he just plays so clean. Meanwhile Bwipo is go big or go home, he's trying the outplay even when it's dumb.
I heard it was because they were only given accounts to the Chinese server, not the Korean server? Kinda interesting as it's definitely been fun watching the superserver shenanigans like Pinoy and the Chinese streamers.
On September 20 2020 06:00 ghrur wrote: I heard it was because they were only given accounts to the Chinese server, not the Korean server? Kinda interesting as it's definitely been fun watching the superserver shenanigans like Pinoy and the Chinese streamers.
Yeah, they rely on accounts from Riot. If they wanted to play on KR they would've needed to rank up their account without the inflated MMR.
I thought it was because access to high MMR KR accounts was delayed, they would still have gotten them. After all, all the pros played on KR when it was there last time, I doubt Riot would only let them have one account in CN.
The super server is definitely fun to watch, but the macro quality is different to Challenger KR. Stomp games aren't restricted to either region though, it's funny seeing a DRX duo or Knight go 0/10.
What are we thinking pre games? I think Play in A could have any of MAD, TL and SuperMassive in any of the top 3 spots. Group B should have LGD in 1st pretty easy, with either UoL or chimera PSG in 2nd and the other in 3rd
EPT
