The League of Legends World Championships for 2016 is set to begin September 29th in San Fransisco, California. The competition starts with a group stage that is Best of One, round robin format, meaning the top two teams from each of the groups will advance to the knockout stage.
The 16 teams participating in Worlds this year have been divided into four groups:
Group A
Rox Tigers — 1st seed from LCK
G2 Esports — 1st seed from EU LCS
Counter Logic Gaming — 2nd seed from NA LCS
Albus Nox Luna — 2nd seed from CIS
Group B
Flash Wolves — 1st seed from LMS
SK Telecom T1 — 2nd seed from LCK
I May — 3rd seed from LPL
Cloud9 — 3rd seed from NA LCS
Group C
Edward Gaming — 1st seed from LPL
AHQ e-Sports Club — 2nd seed from LMS
H2K — 2nd seed from EU LCS
INTZ e-Sports — 1st seed from CBLoL
Group D
TSM — 1st seed from NA LCS
Royal Never Give Up — 2nd seed from LPL
Samsung Galaxy — 3rd seed from LCK
Splyce — 3rd seed from EU LCS
It looks like Group D is the dreaded ‘Group of Death’, with very strong contenders in RNG, TSM, Samsung Galaxy and Splyce all competing for the top two spots.
The European teams (aside from Splyce in Group D) have fairly favorable draws, with G2 and H2K looking at decent chances to get out of Groups A and C respectively.
Stick with ESS for continuing coverage of the road to Worlds 2016. The tournament begins on September 29th.
Need a League of Legends primer? Click here for a fan’s guide to watching at home.
