Preface: The S15 season matches have officially started, and it’s believed that the vast majority of players have been paying attention to the recent battles. With the major regions’ tournaments finished, the most anticipated event now is the World Championship. As the event approaches, the organizers announced the draw rules, revealing that the match between IG and T1 could even affect the final groups 1, 2, and 3. One match not only generated huge excitement but also influenced the grouping—this rule by the officials is truly unprecedented. Meanwhile, observant fans noticed that FPX’s roster no longer includes the jungler jiejie.

Riot’s officials must be regretting this deeply.

Most players are quite familiar with the World Championship. Every year, after regional competitions conclude, the strongest teams gather in one region to fight for nearly a month to claim the world title. The winning team earns the highest honor in League of Legends and also receives an exclusive limited edition skin. This accolade is the dream of every professional LoL player. Several top LPL pros, including Uzi and TheShy, have retired with great achievements but never managed to secure the ultimate championship.

As the World Championship draws near, the organizers officially released the group draw rules. The draw is divided into three pools: Pool 1 includes the number one seeds from the five major regions—BLG, Gen.G, CFO, G2, and FLY. Pool 2 contains the number two seeds and some number three seeds from these regions—AL, HLE, TSW, MKOI, VKS, KT or TES. Pool 3 has the remaining teams: KT or TES, PSG, FNC, 100T, IG, or T1. The first round features matches between Pool 1 and Pool 3 teams, while Pool 2 teams play internally. Also, there are same-region avoidance rules in the first round.

This makes the qualifying match between IG and T1 extremely critical, directly affecting TES’s placement. If IG wins and enters Pool 3, TES will compete in Pool 2. If T1 qualifies for the main event, TES will be placed in Pool 3, facing Pool 1 teams. Riot’s staff are probably crying by now, wondering who came up with this format—how can a single BO5 qualifier have such a huge impact on the Swiss group stage? Indeed, this year’s format has major issues: KT won a BO5 to enter Worlds, while PSG failed to qualify despite not losing.

Observant fans checked the LPL rosters and found that FPX no longer has jungler jiejie, which aligns with his earlier statement that he plans to join another team for S16. Honestly, jiejie's decision seems questionable. If he had stayed with IG, he might have had rotation chances at Worlds. Joining FPX hasn’t brought results and has lowered his value. It’s unclear which strong team will pick him for S16; if he ends up at the bottom of the challenger tier again, he might be of little use.

Farewell thoughts.

Riot’s staff probably never expected this outcome. Initially, they thought their strategy was perfect, even allowing fans to witness top teams clashing early. But the reality was a bombshell: one of the two top-tier teams got eliminated, causing viewership to suffer. However, the organizers found a solution by awarding the extra spot to the North American region, restoring it for S16.

What do you all think about this situation?