As the regional Summer playoffs are coming to a close all across the globe, talks of the World Championship are growing more prevalent. Many teams have already qualified, including those from the LEC, LCK, LPL, and LCS. However, the seeding from each of those regions is yet to be finalized. Regardless, with less than a month before Worlds kick off, Riot Games has announced the 2022 Draw Show details.

What is the Draw Show?

Every split, Riot Games hosts a Draw Show to determine which teams will compete in the Play-In Stage and Group Stage of MSI/Worlds. The teams are divided into Pools (1,2, and 3) based on their region and standing within that region. In the spirit of fairness, the top teams from the major regions (LCK, LPL, LEC, and LCS) are put into the highest pools, while the minor region teams are placed much lower. Because the teams from the major regions will be much more competitive than their minor region counterparts—and because they have more teams in attendance—the teams from the highest pools are spread out evenly amongst the League of Legends Play-Ins/Groups.

Typically, the League of Legends event is hosted by casters and influencers from within the League of Legends community. This year, the LCS’s primary interviewer and occasional play-by-play caster Gabriella “LeTigress” Devia-Allen. The show will take place immediately after the League of Legends Championship Finals on September 11th.

How Will the 2022 Draw Show Work?

Despite official seedings not being finalized, the Pools have already been decided. The Play-In stage, where most of the minor regions and the lower seeded major regions teams play, consists of three pools with four teams in each pool.

Pool 1 will contain the LPL fourth seed, the LCK fourth seed, the LEC third seed, and the PCS second seed.

Pool 2 will contain the LEC fourth seed, the LCS third seed, the VCS second seed, and the LJL first seed.

Pool 3 will contain the LCO first seed, the TCL first seed, the LLA first seed, and the CBLOL first seed.

The drawers will take turns pulling teams, blindly, from each pool and placing them in different groups. No teams from the same region can be in the same group. The teams are drawn starting with the highest pools first, and evenly dispersing them among two groups of six. In other words, the Pool 1 teams will be evenly divided amongst the two groups and will not all be randomly loaded into the same group.

This system is put in place to ensure fairness. The Play-In stage will kick off on September 29th in Mexico City, Mexico.
The Group stage is very similar in structure to the Play-Ins. The twelve teams that automatically qualify for the Group stage are split in a similar order. Also containing three pools, the group stage will have four teams in each pool.

Pool 1 will contain the LPL first seed, the LCK first seed, the LEC first seed, and the LCS first seed.

Pool 2 will contain the LPL second seed, the LCK second seed, the LEC second seed, and the PCS first seed.

Pool 3 will contain the LPL third seed, the LCK third seed, the LCS second seed, and the VCS first seed.

These teams will take turns being drawn into four League of Legends groups of four with the highest pools being allocated first. No teams from each pool will be in the same group, and no teams from the same region will be placed in the same group. The four teams that qualified via Play-Ins will be directly inserted into each of the groups after League of Legends Play-Ins and will not be broadcasted as part of the Draw Show.

The League of Legends Group stage kicks off on October 7th in New York City. Tickets are already available for purchase so be sure to get yours now!