I just made the connection with the 6 teams that the format is literally just the NFL format (from when it was good and not goodell moneygrubbing for more games)
2 byes for top 2 in the region vs 2 byes for top 2 in AFC/NFC
6 teams in playoffs for both
3 v 6, 4 v 5 for both
the only difference is the double elim part of the bracket, which comes out of necessity to determine a 3rd seed
notice how there was no double elim for Madrid, when all we needed was 2 teams. For comparison: Sen vs NRG and EG vs Loud were in the Divisional Round part of the bracket, and Sen vs Loud was the Conference Finals part of the bracket
If Riot is trying to emulate the NFL in their formatting, they're being extremely braindead imo
the NFL is scheduled as single elim because of the fact that it is so ridiculously deep strategically and the sport as a whole is incredibly taxing on both player's bodies and minds, and they literally could not play more than 1 game a week without risk of serious injuries...
There's a reason that sports that are much less taxing: Basketball, for example, have systems in their playoffs to ensure that the BEST team goes through.
I think this explains a lot about the mentality of Riot and why their schedules are so shit if they're taking the NFL as a format to base theirs off of, as TBH the NFL's formats are not good, but it works for the NFL because everyone understands that there's no WAY teams could play more than once a week. People can and do absolutely play valorant as constantly as, basketball for example.
I don't think there's a solid reason for keeping the format in the single elim BS right now that swaps over to double elim, so hopefully this format is a growing pain of getting the league to 12 total teams, and we are going to see a 8 team double elim bracket next year, which fits in standard with all international events, and has been proven to be loved by everyone involved
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