Should the Worlds Swiss Stage Be Played Entirely As Best Of Three?

The discussion is almost as old as the Swiss format itself: are best-of-ones really still appropriate at Worlds? With the start of the Worlds, calls are once again being made to switch the entire Swiss stage to a best-of-three format. This would more reliably reward stronger teams and create more Fearless Drafts – but it would also sacrifice one of the biggest advantages of the current format: a large number of international matchups in a relatively short period of time.

The Current Format Is Already A Compromise

Riot introduced the Swiss Stage in 2023 as a replacement for the traditional Group Stage. Previously, the 16 Main Event teams were split into four groups and played each other twice in best-of-ones. The top two teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinals.

Swiss was designed to reduce exactly those weaknesses: fewer meaningless games, less dependence on the initial draw and more direct matchups between teams with similar records.

Today, three wins mean quarterfinals, while three losses mean elimination. Early matches are BO1, but as soon as advancement or elimination is on the line, the format switches to best-of-three.

That means every team plays at least one BO3. Teams that start 2-0 or 0-2 enter their first series immediately in Round 3. Teams at 1-1 play one more BO1 and then inevitably move to either 2-1 or 1-2 – which means a BO3 as well. So no team is eliminated purely through single games.

BO1 Is Still Extremely Volatile

The strongest argument against BO1s is simple: one game can swing very quickly.

A bad level-one fight, an unusual draft or one failed Baron can be enough. In a BO3, a team at least gets the chance to adjust its draft, side selection and gameplay to the opponent.

At Worlds level, that ability to adapt is part of what makes a team good.

There is also Fearless Draft. In a best-of-three series, the champion pool changes from game to game, which means fewer repeated meta picks. More BO3s could therefore make the tournament not only competitively fairer, but also more interesting from a draft perspective.

BO1s Have One Clear Advantage

The opening Worlds day with eight different matchups works precisely because the games are short enough.

Within a few hours, viewers get Korea against China, Europe against the LCK, NA against the LCP and several other cross-regional matchups. If every match were a BO3, Riot would have to significantly extend the Swiss Stage or run multiple series at the same time.

Then there are upsets. In a BO1, an underdog does not need to beat a favorite twice. One strong draft and one excellent game can be enough.

From a competitive perspective, that is exactly the weakness of the format. From a viewer perspective, however, it regularly creates some of the biggest surprises of the tournament.

Counter-Strike Has the Same Conflict

Counter-Strike has almost exactly the same debate. Majors traditionally used BO1s for normal Swiss matches and BO3s for advancement and elimination

Since CS2 shortened regulation from MR15 to MR12, criticism of BO1s has become even louder because individual maps are now even more volatile.

At the IEM Cologne Major 2026, Stage 3 was therefore played entirely as a BO3 Swiss for the first time, and the upcoming PGL Major Singapore is currently expected to use the same BO3-only format for its most important Swiss stage.

Maybe League Only Needs One Small Step

An interesting solution would be not to immediately change every match to BO3.

Round 1 and Round 2 could remain best-of-one. Riot would keep the fast tournament opening, the high number of different matchups and the upset factor. From Round 3 onward, however, every match could become BO3 – including the 1-1 matchups. That would not be a major revolution. Every other Round 3 match is already best-of-three today. Riot would only need to expand the 1-1 matchups

Worlds would become slightly longer, but one major criticism would disappear: no team would go through three single games and suddenly find itself only one series away from elimination. The current Swiss system is already significantly fairer than the old Groups. Every team gets at least one series, and nobody can be eliminated purely through three BO1 losses

Still, the question is fair. If Riot is increasingly embracing Fearless Draft and best-of series anyway, a little less BO1 at Worlds would probably not be a bad next step.