The opening moves, battles, and heartbreak for the 2023 League of Legends World Championship are being played out in the Play-Ins stage at LoL Arena in Seoul this week.
Following Team BDS’ rapid demolition of LCS hopefuls Golden Guardians in the curtain raiser on Monday, the Worlds 2023 campaign has now begun in earnest for eight challengers, including GAM Esports, PSG Talon, LOUD, and plenty more.
Over six days, the first eight teams up to the mark will battle for just two spots in the next stage, the illustrious and very star-studded Main Event Swiss stage. Teams begin with best-of-three action on Tuesday and Wednesday before moving to do-or-die lower bracket clashes midway through the week before it all culminates in two best-of-five qualifying matches.
It’s all very exciting, and of course, you have to keep up with all the action.
Worlds 2023: Play-Ins standings
Play-in stage of Worlds 2023 kicked off on Oct. 10, and it delivered in a big way. On the first day of the event, viewers witnessed the first penta kill of the tournament from the hands of LOUD’s Route. The Brazilian representatives sealed a 2-0 victory alongside PSG Talon, whom they will face in the second round of Bracket A.
On Oct. 11, Team Whales surprised Team BDS after reverse-sweeping the European representatives. In the other match, DetonatioN FocusMe lost to CTBC Flying Oyster.
A day later, it was time to see four teams clash in the upper bracket clashes. Unfortunately for Brazilian fans, LOUD wasn’t able to take revenge on PSG Talon who quickly took care of them 2-0. CFO and Team Whales, on the other hand, delivered a fierce series that went all the way to the explosive game three. The Vietnamese representatives prevailed.
Those Vietnamese reps would end up meeting each other on Oct. 15 in the final qualifier for the group stage, with the top-seeded GAM holding off Team Whales in their first appearance at Worlds. PSG Talon flies the flag for the PCS against the World Qualifying Series winners BDS in the second qualifier.
Worlds 2023: Play-Ins scores and schedule
Here’s the full schedule for Worlds 2023 Play-Ins, including the results of each match and any eliminations. This first stage of the championship will run until Oct. 15. All times here are listed in CT and are subject to change and delays.
Round One
Tuesday, Oct. 10
- 2am: Movistar R7 0-2 PSG Talon
- 5am: LOUD 2-0 GAM Esports
Wednesday, Oct. 11
- 2am: DetonatioN FM 0-2 CTBC Flying Oyster
- 5am: Team BDS 1-2 Team Whales
Friday, Oct. 13
- 2am: GAM Esports 2-0 Movistar R7
- 5am: Team BDS 2-0 DetonatioN FM
Round Two
Thursday, Oct. 12
- 2am: LOUD 0-2 PSG Talon
- 5am: Team Whales 2-1 CTBC Flying Oyster
Saturday, Oct. 14
- 2am: LOUD 0-2 GAM Esports
- 5am: CTBC Flying Oyster 0-2 Team BDS
Qualifiers
Saturday, Oct. 14
- 10pm: Team Whales 1-3 GAM Esports
Sunday, Oct. 15
- 3am: PSG Talon 2-3 Team BDS.
How does Play-Ins work at Worlds this year?
The Worlds Play-In acts as a mini-qualifier for the world’s minor League regions, with eight teams from the PCS (Asia-Pacific), VCS (Vietnam), LJL (Japan), CBLOL (Brazil), LLA (Latin America), and the WQS clashing heads for two spots in the main event next week.
The teams have been sorted into two double-elimination brackets of four teams, with the top two from each reseeded into a qualifier best-of-five. The two Bo5 winners will join the world’s major league representatives in the Swiss stage.
How to watch the League Worlds 2023 Play-In stage
If you’ve got a Riot Games Account and actively play League, you might want to tune in for Worlds via Riot’s official League esports site. Connecting your Twitch account to your Riot account and watching through the website will enable drops on your account, with a variety of League rewards up for grabs just by viewing the tournament.
Otherwise, you’ll be able to watch the main event stream on Twitch or YouTube. For those who want to watch in another language, Leaguepedia has listed a number of official channels covering the event in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Korean, and many more languages.
Alternatively, some popular streamers and content creators have linked up with Riot as official Worlds co-streamers, broadcasting matches live.
This article will be updated throughout the Worlds 2023 Play-Ins.
