Shortly after Riot Games announced the "Star Sea Cup World Invitational Competition Rules," global players' expectations were pushed to their peak. This set of rules, which combined strict discipline and innovative competition formats, was like a stone stirring up a thousand waves, sparking a phenomenon-level discussion. Immediately afterward, the list of champion teams from the eight invited regions was finally jointly announced by Riot Games officials and local agents, officially unveiling the final curtain for this upcoming world-class event!
The official promotional poster featured a deep universe as its background, with eight shining stars of different colors rising from various corners of the world map, converging towards the Star Sea Cup in the center, symbolizing supreme glory. Below each star, the region and team name it represented were marked:
1. China Region: Star Sea Team (Team Star Ocean), needless to say, the local new champion, the creator of the miracle comeback from a 0-2 deficit, carrying the hopes of countless local players.
2. North America Region: Aurora Gaming, known for its unconstrained creativity and powerful individual mechanics, hailed as the "North American Artists," their matches are always full of unexpected surprises.
3. Europe Region: Royal Knights, inheriting the legacy of veteran esports clubs, known for their rigorous playstyle, excellent teamwork, and especially their strong late-game decision-making and teamfight capabilities.
4. Korea Region: White Tigers, synonymous with discipline, possessing terrifying operational ability and machine-like execution efficiency, they are the cold hunters that all opponents dread facing.
5. Southeast Asia Region: Bangkok Pythons, with an extremely fierce and aggressive style, their early game offense is overwhelming, and their players have outstanding individual skills, especially adept at creating advantages in small-scale teamfights.
6. Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau Region: Flash Wolves, with a flexible and versatile playstyle, good at learning and adapting to patches, strong resilience, often able to burst out astonishing energy when not favored.
7. Latin America Region: Samba Legion, the embodiment of passion and wildness, their playstyle is full of imagination and recklessness, often able to pull off astonishing "god-tier teamfights," with extremely high uncertainty.
8. CIS Region: Siberian Bears, known for their unparalleled individual ability and "fighting nation" style of brute force, with extremely strong lane pressure, adept at destroying opponents in the most direct way.
Eight teams, eight distinctly different styles and cultural backgrounds, are about to clash on the stage of the Star Sea Cup World Invitational! Just looking at this list is enough to make global players imagine countless exciting matchups.
However, what ignited the global community alongside the team list was the unprecedented set of competition rules. The discussion heat on the internet even once surpassed the team announcement itself.
Discussion threads about the new format sprung up like mushrooms after rain below the official announcement, on Reddit, various regional gaming forums, and social media.
"Oh my god! Global Ban-Pick! This means no more five games of Galio vs. five games of Orianna!"
"This is a nightmare for teams with shallow champion pools! Like 'Samba Legion,' can they still play their signature picks?"
"This is the real test of a team's depth and coaching staff's level! I like it! Forcing them to develop new things!"
"The Korean 'White Tigers' team is probably laughing in their sleep, right? Their players' champion pools are bottomless."
"Not necessarily, Star Sea Team's Star Track also has a very deep champion pool, and their coaching staff is strong, adapting to patches quickly. This format might actually amplify their advantages."
"I bet five cents, some team will definitely be screwed by their champion pool, running out of champions by the end of a Best of 5 series!"
"Audiences are in for a treat! Dozens of different champions appearing in one series, just thinking about it is exciting!"
Supporters believed that Global Ban-Pick greatly enhanced the strategic depth and viewing experience of the matches, forcing teams out of their comfort zones and promoting the evolution of game tactics. Opponents worried that this would weaken some teams reliant on specific compositions and might prevent some players' signature champions from appearing multiple times, reducing the appeal of "grudge matches." But no matter what, everyone agreed that this would be the most brutal test of a team's overall strength.
"Swiss System! Finally, no more death groups!"
"It's truly fair, strong teams won't fight each other prematurely, and weaker teams can play more quality matches."
"But Best of 1 has too much uncertainty, what if a crazy team like 'Bangkok Pythons' bites down one or two strong teams in the early game, that would be hilarious."
"Five rounds of matches, strong enough teams will definitely qualify, luck plays a much smaller role than in round-robin group stages."
"Looking forward to the matchups between teams with 1 win and 1 loss in the third round, those will be real life-and-death battles!"
"For a volatile team like 'Aurora Gaming,' the Swiss System could be an opportunity, or a grave."
The Swiss System format received widespread praise from most players, who believed it maximized fairness, made every group stage match meaningful, avoided the regret of strong teams being eliminated too early due to unexpected upsets, and gave more opportunities for mid-tier teams to showcase themselves.
"Full soundproofing! Excellent! No more worrying about 'live coaching'!"
"No non-technical pauses! Awesome! Let's see who dares to 'tactically go to the restroom'!"
"It should have been like this long ago! Top-tier events should look like top-tier events!"
"Player image is also managed? Good, looks more professional."
"The referees have so much power, I hope the rulings can be fair and just."
Players almost unanimously supported the strict code of conduct. This was seen as an important sign of league of legends esports moving towards complete professionalization and standardization, enhancing the overall brand image and viewing experience of the event.
Eight powerhouses have gathered, and innovative formats and strict rules have been made public. Global players' enthusiasm has been completely ignited, and they have begun to analyze the pros and cons of each team's style under the new format, predict qualification scenarios, and debate which region will lift the first Star Sea Cup World Invitational trophy.
The eye of the storm has formed, just waiting for the moment the competition officially begins. The Star Sea Cup World Invitational, even before it started, is already destined to be etched into the annals of esports history.