IEM Gyeonggi news: How to watch, schedule, results

Because there truly is no offseason in competitive League of Legends, we’ve moved swiftly from the end of Worlds through IEM Oakland and All-Stars and now forward to IEM Gyeonggi. The new competitive season starts in about a month, but we’ve got one last international tournament before we forge back onward with domestic play.

IEM is one of the oldest competitions in esports, with tournaments in multiple titles at each event. At IEM Gyeonggi, League of Legends will be joined by tournaments in Starcraft 2 and Overwatch — the first time an IEM event has had an Overwatch tournament.

Without further ado, here’s everything you need to know about the event going on in the week ahead in Gyeonggi, South Korea.

When is it?

Group play begins Tuesday, December 14. If you’re in the USA, it’ll start pretty late at night. The finals will be in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, December 16. There will be games every day between except for Saturday.

How do I watch?

On ESL’s Twitch channel.

What’s the format?

There will be a double elimination group stage followed by a single elimination playoff stage. The top two teams from each group will advance to the playoff stage.

The two groups are: Group A (Samsung Galaxy, Immortals, J Team, Vega Squadron) and Group B (Kongdoo Monster, Team Liquid, Giants Gaming, Dark Passage).

Riot Games

What’s the schedule?

All times Eastern.

Group stage Day 1 — Tuesday 12/13- Wednesday 12/14

Samsung Galaxy vs. Vega Squadron, 8 p.m.

J Team vs. Immortals, 9:20 p.m.

Winners’ match, 10:40 p.m.

Losers’ match #1, 2:10 a.m.

Losers’ match #2, 5:40 a.m.

Group stage Day 2 — Wednesday 12/14-Thursday 12/15

Kongdoo Monster vs. Dark Passage, 8 p.m.

Team Liquid vs. Giants Gaming, 9:20 p.m.

Winners’ match, 10:40 p.m.

Losers’ match #1, 2:10 a.m.

Losers’ match #2, 5:40 a.m.

Knockout stage — Thursday 12/15

Semifinal #1, 9:45 p.m.

Knockout stage -- Friday 12/16

Semifinal #2, 9:30 p.m.

Knockout stage -- Sunday 12/18

Final, 2:40 a.m.

Can I see that in bracket form?

Sure! Via EsportsWikis:

http://lol.esportswikis.com/wiki/IEM_Season_11_-_Gyeonggi

Doesn’t Group A seem a little bit stronger than Group B?

Yes, yes it does.

How many games will be in each series?

The first round of group stage games will be best-of-one, while the second round will be best-of-three. The semifinals will also be best-of-three, and the finals will be best-of-five.

Can you tell me more about the teams and rosters?

From Korea, Worlds runners-up Samsung Galaxy will be joined by recently promoted Kongdoo Monster. Samsung has retained its starting roster from its Worlds run, while Kongdoo will also use the same roster that won promotion to the LCK.

There will be three LCS teams (two North American, one European) in Gyeonggi, all with significant roster changes. Immortals and Team Liquid will be participating in their first ever international tournaments, and also swapped junglers: Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett is one of four new players on Immortals’ roster, while Yeu-jin “Reignover” Kim is one of a few additions for Team Liquid.

Dardoch is joined on Immortals by fellow newcomers Ho-jong “Flame” Lee, Cody Sun and Joo-sung “Olleh” Kim as well as returning mid laner Eugene “Pobelter” Park. Reignover is joined on Team Liquid by returning starters Samson “Lourlo” Jackson and Matt Elento, as well as recently promoted mid laner Greyson “Goldenglue” Gilmer. Team Liquid will also reportedly welcome the return of AD Carry Gwang-jin “Piglet” Chae to its roster.

Riot Games

Representing the EU LCS, Giants Gaming returns just two starters from its surprisingly successful 2016 Summer Split: First Team EU LCS mid laner Gun-woo “NighT” Na and support Morgan “Hustlin” Granberg. The pair will be joined by former Vitality jungler Ming-soo “Mightybear” Kim and former Challenger Series prospects Olof “Flaxxish” Medlin and Elias “Upset” Lipp.

Also attending: reigning LMS Summer regular season winners J Team, a new organization that just barely missed out on Worlds. Led by mid laner Chun-Lan “FoFo” Chu, J Team will also be breaking in new jungler Chen-Chi “Achie” Chen, previously a substitute for the Taipei Assassins.

Two wild card teams will be there as well: reigning Turkish champions Dark Passage and Russian runners-up Vega Squadron. Dark Passage will be playing with an entirely new group of players — two former starters were signed by European teams -- and will feature legendary Turkish AD Carry Anıl "HolyPhoenix" Işık, the first Turkish import to EU and the first Turkish player to reach Challenger on the EU West server. Vega Squadron will be using the same lineup as it did in the Russian season, led by former Moscow Five support Edward Abgaryan.

What patch will it be played on?

Patch 6.23, the one before the current live one released last week. So you won’t be seeing Camille, but there will be plants, and Ivern should be playable.

How seriously should we take this?

Not very! Most of these teams are playing with new rosters, and most of these players haven’t played a competitive game on a patch from the new season. Remember, fourth-place EU LCS team Unicorns of Love beat two teams that made Worlds en route to a win at IEM Oakland, so anything can happen.

What does the winner get?

$50,000, plus an invitation to the IEM Season 11 World Championship.

How can I find out what happened?

We’ll have updates on The Rift Herald, and will have the updated scores and bracket right below here!

That means if you don’t want spoilers, don’t scroll down. You’ve been warned!

IEM Gyeonggi results:

Group stage Day 1 — Tuesday 12/13- Wednesday 12/14

Samsung Galaxy vs. Vega Squadron — Samsung win

J Team vs. Immortals --- Immortals win

Winners’ match: Samsung Galaxy vs. Immortals — Samsung win (2-0)

Losers’ match #1: Vega Squadron vs. J Team — J Team win (2-0)

Losers’ match #2, J Team vs. Immortals — Immortals win (2-1)

Group stage Day 2 — Wednesday 12/14-Thursday 12/15

Kongdoo Monster vs. Dark Passage — Kongdoo Monster win

Team Liquid vs. Giants Gaming — Giants Gaming win

Winners’ match: Kongdoo Monster vs. Giants Gaming -- Kongdoo Monster win (2-0)

Losers’ match #1, Dark Passage vs. Team Liquid — Team Liquid win (2-0)

Losers’ match #2, Giants Gaming vs. Team Liquid — Team Liquid win (2-0)

Knockout stage — Thursday 12/15

Samsung Galaxy vs. Team Liquid -- Samsung win (2-0)

Knockout stage -- Friday 12/16

Kongdoo Monster vs. Immortals -- Kongdoo win (2-1)

Knockout stage -- Sunday 12/18

Samsung Galaxy vs. Kongdoo Monster — Samsung win (3-1)