MSI LoL 2021 Group Seeding and Worlds Implications Revealed

With the League of Legends Spring Split Playoffs 2021 underway, Riot Games has decided to tease what we could expect to see at the Icelandic MSI LoL 2021 event. The new information details the Group Stage format and some inclinations towards Worlds seeding later this year.

The MSI LoL 2021 is doing things a little differently this year, with three groups of 12. Each group has already been seeded, meaning we can already begin to theorize who is what group. League of Legends’ MSI 2021’s Groups is seeded as follows.

 

• Group 1 – China (LPL), Vietnam (VCS), CIS (LCL), Oceania (LCO).
• Group 2 – Europe (LEC), Southeast Asia (PCS), Turkey (TCL), Brazil (CBLOL).
• Group 3 – Korea (LCK), North America (LCS), LATAM (LLA), Japan (LJL).

 

The interesting thing about this is the LCS is not considered on the same tier as the LEC, LCK, and the LPL. According to this tiering system, the NA region’s strength is equivalent to some of the stronger minor regions, which get at least one seed into Worlds and one team in the Worlds Play-Ins.

The reason for the breakdown of the groups into these tiers is down to international results.  Riot says that the breakdown is based on the last two years of international tournaments’ results, including the most recent 2020 World Championship. Tom Martell, Global Director of Operations, conducted the group draw utilizing software to assign the teams to the different competitive groups randomly.

Furthermore, MSI has some huge Worlds implications for the two best regions at MSI LoL 2021. The team that wins MSI grants their region one extra seed in Worlds 2021. Once when the event concludes, Riot Games will work out the calculations behind the best international region for 2021 through power rankings. The highest placing region that didn’t win MSI will get an extra seed in the Worlds 2021 event.

In 2020, Riot Games decided to expand Worlds to grant two regions an extra seed at Worlds. The LEC sent the MAD Lions to Worlds as the region’s fourth seed, with the LPL sending LGD as their fourth seed to Worlds. Both teams were seeded to the Worlds Play-In Stage.

We do not know how Riot Games handles its formulae for Regional Power Rankings, so they will most likely reveal their workings and how close the race was after MSI LoL 2021. With that said, those hyped to watch the new event take place can mark their calendars for Thursday, May 6, with the event concluding Sunday, May 23. Riot Games will reveal more info including the qualified teams and the broadcast schedule will be revealed in late April.