A bizarre LOL competition emerges: semifinals and finals on the same day, with seven Chinese and Korean teams vying for the title.

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As is well known, this year's League of Legends season will include numerous international tournaments, with six major events throughout the year offering a lot of content, and among them, the EWC World Cup has a relatively low profile.

The editor

The recently announced EWC World Cup schedule has truly left everyone astonished.

EWC World Cup schedule unveiled

EWC is the Esports World Cup, while ENC is the Esports Nations Cup. These two events are considered to have relatively low prestige, but their prize pools are quite generous. Recently, after the ENC national teams announced their rosters, everyone has become very interested in this Nations Cup. Due to its special nature, the LPL places great importance on this tournament.

For those who did not get the chance to participate in the Asian Games, winning this tournament can make up for that regret. Moreover, as an event held at the end of the year, securing the championship can provide a perfect conclusion to the season.

As a result, the EWC has become a relatively low-prestige event. This tournament is being held for the third time this year; the previous two champions were both from the LCK, and the titles received little discussion afterward. The only thing that sparked considerable buzz was its key mechanic, where the winner could melt the loser's key into the base of the trophy.

Recently, the EWC schedule has also been released. A total of 16 teams will participate, with matches starting on July 15 and concluding on July 19. The group stage will take place first, followed by the playoffs where the top eight teams will compete in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals on the 18th and 19th.

Semifinals followed by finals: the absurdity is at its peak.

The schedule is extremely tight, with the most outrageous part being the arrangement of the semifinals and finals. On the 19th, the first semifinal starts at 4 PM in a BO3 format. After that, the second semifinal takes place. Once both matches are over, the final will commence directly at 8 PM, played in a BO5 format.

Let’s do a quick analysis: the second semifinal is expected to start at 5:30 PM. Normally, a match plus pre-game preparation and rest takes about one hour. From 5:30 to 8 PM is two and a half hours.

In other words, the final is scheduled to begin shortly after the semifinals conclude, with almost no break.

If all three games in the semifinal go the distance, the final might start around 8:30 PM. This means that the team advancing from the second semifinal will have almost no rest before playing the final.

This is quite unfair to the team that advances from the second semifinal.

Once the final four are determined, the official schedule will inevitably spark huge controversy. The difference between playing first and playing later is enormous; the earlier team gets more rest, while the later team faces a severe physical test.

Seven major Chinese and Korean teams compete for the final championship.

Under such a bizarre format, the eventual champion will likely be similar to the previous two years—lacking prestige and discussion, quickly forgotten by viewers. However, setting aside the schedule, the participating teams in the World Cup are still of very high quality, with seven major teams from the Chinese and Korean regions.

The three teams from the LPL are AL, JDG, and BLG. From the LCK, we have GEN, T1, HLE, and DK. Additionally, G2, KC, and MKOI from the LEC will also participate.

Personally, I believe that in such a tightly packed schedule, teams have very little room and time for adjustments. Generally, having a good start is crucial. During the clash of different meta understandings, it is very possible that one region's teams could dominate another, creating a huge advantage.

Coupled with the low margin for error in the format, upsets are very likely. In fact, winning the championship in such a tournament is extremely difficult. For the LPL region, the most important thing is to overcome their slow-start issue, quickly adapt to the rhythm of matches against Korean teams, and strive to claim the World Cup title despite the difficulties, ending LCK's dominance in this event.