In recent years, Riot Games has consistently applied a single elimination format in its major tournaments such as the World Championship (Worlds). This format has certain strengths as it heightens the drama and excitement of matches during the qualifiers, with teams facing immediate elimination risks. However, over time and with the evolution of Esports in general and League of Legends (LoL) in particular, this format has begun to reveal significant drawbacks.
Therefore, in recent years, Riot has started to implement double elimination formats in tournaments, but they have completely overlooked it in international competitions. With the 2022 Worlds approaching, the gaming community is voicing strong demands for Riot to adopt the double elimination format for this tournament. So why does Riot need to apply the double elimination format for the upcoming 2022 Worlds and future tournaments? Let’s explore.
Current LoL tournaments have too much “downtime”
If we look back at the single elimination rounds of the 2021 Worlds last year, we can see that the time gap between the Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals was around 5-7 days. During this period, no matches took place, and the audience had no content to watch live. This stems from the very limited number of matches in the single elimination format, with only 7 Bo5 games.
For viewers following a major tournament, witnessing top-tier competitions is the most important aspect. Having too much “downtime” between single elimination rounds has somewhat unnecessarily cooled down the tournament atmosphere. This can attract a large viewer count for one match while the others are completely overlooked. By adopting the double elimination format, matches will occur continuously and maintain audience enthusiasm.
There are too few highlight matches in international tournaments
In the past 5 years, two players have been regarded as the greatest superstars in the Mid Lane role: Faker and Rookie. However, few would expect that in their international careers, Faker and Rookie have never faced each other in a Bo5 match. This is due to the single elimination format, which significantly reduces the chance of highlight matchups between top players worldwide.
With the addition of matches in the losers’ bracket, the likelihood of exciting matchups like these will be significantly higher. Coupled with the increasing number of strong LoL teams emerging, the double elimination format will bring many engaging and thrilling matchups. This will automatically enhance the tournament’s appeal without Riot needing to exert excessive effort to create media hype as they currently do.
Keeping up with modern Esports trends
If we look beyond the scope of LoL, we can see that the double elimination format has been adopted in many Esports titles, creating excitement for those games. From DOTA 2, CS:GO, to Riot’s own VALORANT, this format is applied in international tournaments to increase the appeal of the event with “fiery” matchups.
Therefore, there is no reason for Riot to continue using the outdated and old-fashioned single elimination format. It is important to remember that at this moment, there are too many types of entertainment and Esports titles for gamers to follow. LoL needs to catch up with the general trend, especially in competition formats, to ensure that this game continues to maintain its position.