To remove some of the random elements of the seeding, we decided, together with Valve, to opt for the Buchholz system.
After this change, the first two rounds won't be affected. This means that the initial seeding will be used. We will use the Buchholz system starting the 3rd round and forward, where wins/losses will be accounted into the match-ups.
How it works
Swiss Format with Buchholz system
Initial seeding
The first round will use seedings from the Challenger and Legends stage-seeding depending on which part of the tournament is being played.
Round 1 Match-ups:
Round 1 will use the initial team seedings to determine their opponents.
Challenger Stage
CIS #3 vs EU #11
EU #4 vs EU #10
NA #4 vs CIS #5
EU #5 vs NA #5
EU #6 vs CIS #4
EU #7 vs OCE #1/Asia #1/SA#1 (depending on random seeding draw)
EU #8 vs OCE #1/Asia #1/SA#1 (depending on random seeding draw)
EU #9 vs OCE #1/Asia #1/SA#1 (depending on random seeding draw)
Legends Stage
EU #1 vs 3-2
NA #1 vs 3-2
CIS #1 vs 3-2
EU #2 vs 3-1
NA #2 vs -3-1
CIS #2 vs - 3-1
EU #3 vs 3-0
NA #3 vs 3-0
*Ties are resolved by using the Buchholz tie-breaker.
Round 2 Match-ups
Round 2 in both Challengers and Legends Stage will be split into two groups of Winners and Losers of Round one and use the Challenger/Legends Stage Seed to decide match-ups.
Winners of Round #1
#1 vs #8
#2 vs #7
#3 vs #6
#4 vs #5
Losers of Round #1
#9 vs #16
#10 vs #15
#11 vs #14
#12 vs #13
Round 3:
Stage three will be divided into three groups of 2-0, 1-1, 0-2 wins/losses with the help of Buchholz tie-breaker system. Teams that have played each other in previous rounds cannot face each other again.
Buchholz example:
Your team has a 0-2 record (two losses) and your prior opponents are 2-0 and 1-1. Your tiebreaker score is 2 (your prior opponents have 3 wins total, and 1 loss total, so 3-1 = 2)
Another team is 0-2 (two losses), and their prior opponents are both 1-1. Their tiebreaker score is 0 (the prior opponents have 2 wins and 2 losses in total, so 2-2 = 0)
Another team is 0-2 (two losses), and their prior opponents are both 1-1. Their tiebreaker score is 0 (the prior opponents have 2 wins and 2 losses in total, so 2-2 = 0)
This means your team has the higher seed with a Buchholz score of 2 vs 0 due to stronger opponents.
In cases where teams are still tied. Initial Team Seeding is used.
Round 3 Seeding:
Round 3 Match-ups:
2-0 (High Matches, BO3)
#1 vs #4
#2 vs #3
1-1 (Mid Matches, BO1)
#1 vs #8
#2 vs #7
#3 vs #6
#4 vs #5
0-2 (Low Matches, BO3)
#1 vs #4
#2 vs #3
Round 4:
Round 4 will once again have the teams re-seeded based on previous opponents’ scores and will be divided into two groups of 2-1 (two wins, 1 loss) and 1-2 (1 win, two losses) with the help of the Buchholz tie-breaker system. Teams that have played each other in previous rounds cannot face each other again.
Round 5:
Round 5 will have the remaining teams with 2-2 score (two wins and two losses) re-seeded based on previous opponents’ scores and will be divided into 1 group with three match-ups. Teams that have played each other in previous rounds cannot face each other again.
Round 5 Match-ups:
#1 vs #6
#2 vs #5
#3 vs #4
Major Playoffs
Playoffs will be played with a single elimination best-of-three bracket and use the following seeding:
| Playoff Seed | Legends Stage Results | Quarter-Finals | Semi-Finals | |
| 1 | 3-0 | |||
| 2 | 3-0 | A - 1 vs. 8 | A vs. B | |
| 3 | 3-1 | B - 4 vs. 5 | ||
| 4 | 3-1 | |||
| 5 | 3-1 | C - 2 vs. 7 | C vs. D | |
| 6 | 3-2 | D - 3 vs. 6 | ||
| 7 | 3-2 | |||
| 9 | 3-2 |
*Ties are resolved by using the Buchholz tie-breaker from the previous stage.