Worlds 2024 format under review by Riot Games

With Worlds 2023 coming to an end, Riot Games hinted at a possible change to the tournament format for 2024 at the Media Day.

Worlds 2024 might see some tweaks compared to 2023

Worlds 2023 has been an important milestone for Riot as it marked the introduction of the Swiss stage that replaced the traditional groups stage. The initial goal was to create higher stake matches during this phase, creating more narratives to lure fans into watching the games.

With the previous group stage, teams from the same region couldn’t have been seeded inside the game group. This led to some groups becoming filled with strong teams thus creating a bit of an imbalance. The Swiss stage was brought in to create fairer matches, as teams face off against opponents with the same record. This meant that all teams from the top 16 Worlds could have faced each other, as long as they had the same score, creating more excitement.

Naz Aletaha, Riot’s Global Head of League of Legends Esports, stated during the Media Day that the Swiss stage has been successful and that the viewership had gone up exponentially, having reached a 65% increase compared to last year. Nonetheless, Riot Games is considering making some changes to the Worlds Swiss stage format.

The issue with the Swiss Stage

While the Swiss stage was great and it allowed fans to see unthinkable matchups such as the internal civil wars between most regions, the randomness of the draws also led to many teams facing other teams from the same region too often. With that in mind, Riot stated that they are considering ways to avoid interregional matches for 2024, especially beyond round one, as well as the possibility of avoiding rematches. The one rematch that happened this year was the series between KT Rolster and Dplus Kia.

While the occurrence of it happening shouldn’t be that high, having rematches in decisive matches can ultimately lower the hype, which is why Riot is working to solve that issue. While it’s unclear how the adjustments will be made, we should see a slightly different version of the Swiss stage next year.

But before that, it’s time for the final: who will win between WBG and T1? Find out who is favored in our Worlds 2023 Finals preview.

Read also: Worlds x Secretlab – Ergonomics for pro esports athletes