Riot Games has finally provided more details about the format of the 2021 League of Legends World Championship.
In terms of this year’s pools for the group stage draw, it’s been confirmed that the PCS’ first seed, PSG Talon, has been pushed up into Pool A. North America’s first seed, 100 Thieves, has been placed in Pool B.
This is the first time since 2018 that the LCS first seed hasn’t been featured in the top pool of teams. Fnatic, KT Rolster, Royal Never Give Up, and the LMS’ Flash Wolves made up Pool A during that year’s tournament.
As for this upcoming event, PSG Talon have had an incredible year so far after proving to be the undisputed best team in their region throughout 2021. They had a perfect regular season during the 2021 Summer Split and only dropped one series on their way to back-to-back PCS championships.
They also showed that they weren’t just the product of a weaker minor region by reaching the semifinals of the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational, where they took wins off of premier teams like RNG, Cloud9, and MAD Lions—all with a substitute AD carry. At Worlds, they’ll have their full roster at their disposal, ready to make a deep run as a dark horse candidate.
100 Thieves, on the other hand, had a relatively surprising run to their first LCS championship. Many people expected one of either C9, TSM, or Team Liquid to win the trophy again, but all three faltered during the playoffs. At the same time, 100 Thieves caught a hot streak and began to sweep up the competition thanks to some stellar play from their star jungler, Closer. A new banner was hung up in the LCS Studios and a fresh first seed rose to represent NA at this year’s Worlds.
The group draw show will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 7am CT. Worlds 2021 begins on Oct. 5.
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