The group stage results for the Nirvana Cup are out.

To bridge the downtime before Worlds, LOL officials invited teams from the LPL, LCK, and LCP regions that didn't make it to Worlds to join the "Asia Invitational." This event is what LPL fans refer to as the "Nirvana Worlds." Eight teams are competing: from LPL, NIP, WBG, and JDG; from LCK, DK, NS, and BFX; and from LCP, GAM and MVKE. These eight teams are split into two groups to play a single round-robin, best-of-three format.

The top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals, while the bottom two will be eliminated. The official group draw has been announced: JDG, DK, WBG, and GAM are in Group A, while BFX, NIP, NS, and MVKE are in Group B. After the draw, many LPL fans joked that Group A is the "Group of Death," since JDG and DK are both considered the fifth seeds from their region, and WBG and GAM also have many star players.

Many viewers, upon seeing the groups, started looking forward to the "regional king showdown" between Scout and Xuge, as well as the rematch between Xiaotian and GAM. Of course, many fans hope that WBG and NIP can make it to the semifinals, so they can witness the "perfect match" again. Although this event is called the "Nirvana Worlds," it only lasts seven days. The group stage uses a best-of-three format, and the semifinals will be double-elimination. (Who do you think will ultimately take the championship?)

Whether IG can defeat T1 will impact TES's group placement.

Besides the Nirvana Worlds sparking fan discussions, LOL officials recently revealed the Swiss round group rules for the S15 World Championship. In the first Swiss round, teams avoid facing opponents from the same region. The top seeds from each major region must face the third seeds from other regions in the first round. The LPL's BLG and AL teams have been assigned as first and second seeds by Riot, while the seed numbers for TES and IG depend on IG's crucial match against T1.

If IG eliminates T1 in the play-in stage, TES and IG will be the second and third seeds at Worlds, and KT from the LCK will drop to third seed. Conversely, if IG is knocked out by T1, TES will become the third seed, while KT and T1 will be the LCK's second and third seeds. Many TES fans, learning that the third seed faces the first seed in round one, are cheering for IG to beat T1, since TES struggles to adapt to the meta quickly. Fans hope IG's win will buy TES more time to adjust.

Faker’s signature champions have been weakened.

Many LPL fans believe IG's chances against T1 depend on the patch changes, as each patch brings new power shifts. Riot recently announced the 15.20 patch updates for Worlds. IG fans celebrated because Faker’s signature mid-lane champions, Azir and Orianna, were significantly nerfed in the patch. (Especially Azir’s W damage to secondary targets, reduced from 75% at level 11 to 44%, almost halving the damage, and Orianna’s W base damage was also lowered.)

Conclusion

If the new versions of Azir and Orianna fail to appear in pro play, it would definitely benefit IG, since Faker’s mastery of these champions at Worlds has been intimidating. Do you think these nerfs to Azir and Orianna are good news for IG? And in the crucial IG vs. T1 showdown, who do you think will come out on top?