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Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage Kicks Off: What to Expect!
The main event starts NOW! Worlds 2023 is about to enter the second stage of the tournament, the Swiss Stage. After the wastelands battle that was the Play-Ins, the best 14 teams in the world face off for a chance to edge closer to the Summoners Cup. In case you missed it, check out our handy all-in-one guide for Worlds 2023, here!
What is the Swiss Stage?
The Swiss Stage of Worlds is the second stage of the tournament. It is usually characterized as the part of the tournament where it starts to get serious.
In this stage, teams advance after winning 3 matches, and are eliminated after 3 defeats. 16 teams will play Best of 1s, with elimination and advancement matches being Best of 3s.
The Swiss Stage is followed by the Knockout Stage (the final stage of Worlds). While the Knockout is the grand finale to the event, the Swiss is where you get to see most of your favorite teams in, representatives from most of the major regions. Considering the LCK and the LPL each have 4 teams and there are only 8 teams in the next stage, better start cheering for your own team to make it past!
Furthermore, the venue will now change as we pass Play-Ins. Remaining in Seoul, we now move to the KBS arena.
Schedule for Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage
16 teams. 8 matchups. 1 starting line. Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage will kick off on the 19th of October. Here is the schedule for day 1 of the Swiss Stage:
T1 vs Team Liquid [7am CEST]
We could call this a pseudo rematch of Worlds 2022. Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon once more faces T1 in this match of West meets East. However, this is unlikely to end as prettily for North America. T1 is favored to win this first matchup with a 95% favor (2082 predictions) according to Strafe Esports viewers.
Cloud9 vs MAD Lions [8am CEST]
EU’s third child meets the hope of NA in this fairly exciting first match. Cloud9 has performed relatively well this year having won LCS Spring placing 2nd in Summer. Meanwhile, MAD Lions has had a fairly disappointing end of the year. They were champions of the Spring Split but faltered towards Summer. It's safe to say their performances have been incredibly up-and-down for a top LEC team. According to Strafe Esports viewers, 72% (1882 predictions) favor MAD Lions in this upcoming series.
GAM Esports vs Gen.G [9am CEST]
Right, now we get to the juicy stuff. GAM, prodigal son of Vietnam, continues to deliver with decent runs at Worlds. Last year they were narrowly stopped in Play-Ins. This year, they have made it to the Swiss Stage. On paper, their team looks pretty strong. They have a jungler who always delivers in Đỗ “Levi” Duy Khánh, they now have a promising midlaner and botlaner. However, the one who stands across from them is Gen.G. Winner of the LCK Summer Split. Summer and Spring and Summer. Three-time Playoff winners in the LCK. The optimists, all 4% (of 1854 predictions), voted for GAM. The rest, so basically everyone, thinks Gen.G is likely to win.
JD Gaming vs Team BDS [10am CEST]
Pardon my French, but Jesus. BDS draws JD Gaming in the first bout. That’s rough. JD Gaming are coming into Worlds heavily favored to win the whole event (just like T1 last year). BDS ended the LEC Season Finals ranked 4th. They played against Golden Guardians in the Worlds Qualifier Series and won. BDS also battled through Play-Ins, narrowly winning over PSG Talon in the first reverse sweep of the tournament. And now, they face the winner of 2022 LPL Summer Playoffs, 2023 LPL Spring, 2023 LPL Spring Playoff, MSI 2023, and 2023 LPL Summer Playoffs. Another three-time Playoffs winner. 81% of (1831 predictions) Strafe Esports viewers predicted JD to walk away with the win.
Dplus KIA vs G2 Esports [11am CEST]
1st seed of the LEC versus the 4th seed of the LCK. Surely EU comes out ahead…right…right? According to 1905 predictions, 67% agree that G2 probably wins. G2 has won the last 10 games they played in, have looked incredibly dominant in the LEC and has been regularly cited as exciting and tough to play in scrims. However, let us reserve some doubt until G2 makes the Knockout Stage again.
NRG vs Weibo Gaming [12pm CEST]
NA’s 1st seed. China’s 4th seed. North America’s pride is about to hurt. Weibo come in as a late addition to Worlds 2023, however, their performance in the LPL is worthy of recognition. Strafe Esports viewers have an 86% bias towards Weibo out of 1687 predictions. To be fair, NRG has done well this year. After picking up CLG’s roster, they have managed to go from 5th place in the regular summer season to winning the LCS championship.
Fnatic vs LNG Esports [13pm CEST]
"EU is not a one team region. EU is not a one team region." Fnatic face off against China’s 3rd seed in this exciting first bout. While it presents a challenge, Fnatic have proven themselves relatively strong especially given the context of their year as a whole. Moreover, their rookie top laner and ADC have both been receiving plenty of praises, which bodes well for this matchup against some of League’s most experienced players. 39% weightage for Fnatic and 61% for LNG Esports, across 1769 predictions. That’s probably as close as we are going to get, unless Fnatic pulls off a miracle.
Bilibili Gaming vs KT Rolster [2pm CEST]
The final meal of the afternoon goes to Korea’s 3rd seed versus China’s 2nd. Bilibili surprised many with their deep run at MSI, especially with how cohesive their team looked in teamfights, even against some of the world’s best. Up against them, the veterans of Korea. This is likely to be the best and most exciting of all series on day 1, if you were to watch one. 60% voted for BLG, out of 1632 predictions.
Where to Watch Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage?
Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage can be watched on Twitch and YouTube. For the full list of streams in all available languages, check this link here.
Credit: Christian Betancourt/Riot Games
