The draw for the Demacia Cup cross-regional Swiss round is out.

The Demacia Cup will begin on October 3rd. This year's tournament breaks with previous formats, bringing together mid-tier teams from LEC, LPL, LCK, LCS, and CBLOL.

The competition begins with a Swiss-system tournament, with the opening match being a Bo1 single-game format. The remaining matches will then transition to Bo3, and the teams that advance will compete for the championship in a Bo5 single-elimination tournament.

Under the principle of avoiding teams from the same region, the first-round draw showed a high degree of balance on paper. The most anticipated opening match was between LCS fourth seed Shopify Rebellion and LCK fifth seed KT Rolster. Shopify's mid laner Zinie will face off against his former team, while the stronger KT team is undoubtedly the favorite to win this match.

In the LPL region, fifth seed JDG will face off against LCK seventh seed BRO. JDG recently adjusted their mid-jungle duo, replacing them with xiaofang and Angel, and the performance of this new lineup is the biggest highlight. Sixth seed WE faces the struggling LCP team GAM and has a good chance of winning. Seventh seed LGD will face LCS fifth seed FlyQuest, whose competitive form is being tested due to recent off-field controversies.

The European region has a chance to break through. NAVI, led by Rookie of the Year Rhilech, faces the Brazilian team RED Canids, with a relatively favorable draw; Vitality will face the revamped Korean sixth seed FearX.

Looking at the overall trend, although Eastern teams still maintain a slight advantage in win rate, and KT, who are approaching the top level of LCK, are the biggest favorites, the probability of upsets is not low in the early stages of decisive single-game matches. The strength gap between the lower-ranked Chinese and Korean teams is not significant, and the consistently performing European teams and veteran powerhouses may be the key variables in this inter-regional competition.

Image source: Internet