Earlier today, the final series of the domestic portion of the 2023 League of Legends season wrapped up, with G2 Esports defeating Fnatic in a convincing 3-0 sweep to claim the 2023 LEC Season Finals championship. With the entire field of teams set for the World Championship, the brackets for the play-in stage of the tournament were quickly drawn following the LEC finals.
Mostly, the play-in stage will consist of teams from minor regions, although one major region squad—the eventual winner of the Worlds Qualifying Series—will also participate in the tournament’s initial stage. The VCS and PCS will each send two teams to the Worlds play-in stage, while the LLA, CBLOL, and LJL will only send one team apiece.
This year, only two teams will advance out of the play-in stage and earn a spot in the Worlds main event, making the stakes higher than ever.
Here’s how the brackets are going to look at this year’s Worlds play-in stage.
Worlds 2023 play-in stage draw results
Worlds Play-ins Bracket A matchups
- GAM Esports vs. LOUD
- PSG Talon vs. Movistar R7
Worlds Play-ins Bracket B matchups
- Team BDS / Golden Guardians vs. Team Whales
- CTBC Flying Oyster vs. DetonatioN FocusMe
The Worlds 2023 play-in stage will begin on Oct. 10, but the tournament unofficially begins on Oct. 9 with the Worlds Qualifying Series. That best-of-five will be between Team BDS of the LEC and Golden Guardians of the LCS. The EU/NA grudge match will determine the final representative in the Worlds play-in stage, and they’ll be slotted into Bracket B, where Team Whales await the winner.
