The 2015 League of Legends World Championships are approaching quickly, and today, Riot Games has announced the format for the competition. There are a few things that are going to be done differently than last year, so here's a quick breakdown of what to expect.

Format

As was the case last year, the tournament will begin with four groups, each participating in a double round-robin. The top two teams from each group will then move on to the knockout stage. From there, the quarter finals, semi finals, and finals, will be played as best-of-5's.

Changes for 2015

Possibly the biggest change to note is that the draw for the group stage (which decides which teams will face off) will now be done live. This is in response to fan outcry last year, when the draw was done behind closed doors. The groups will be drawn in this way:

As was the case last year, no group can contain more than 1 team from the same region. In the event that the randomized draw would put a team into an ineligible group, they will automatically be placed in the next eligible group.

Not wanting teams to attempt to manipulate their group stage score to face a certain opponent, Riot Games has decided to randomize the knockout stage this year. In the quarter finals, 1st place teams from the group stage must play 2nd place teams, and teams from the same group cannot be placed on the same half of the bracket.

That sums up the basic format and changes we can expect to see at Worlds. The biggest question remaining now is, which teams are going to make it?

Source/Image Credit: Riot Games