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Champions 2024 Seoul - Seems like the obvious number 1 spot. Even though playoffs haven't even started yet, the sheer unpredictability of the group stage with many massive upsets shows how competitive the playing field is. This sets an unknown precedent for how the playoffs will go, adding to the excitement. Furthermore, China as a region have been better this event than any other year.
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Champions 2022 Istanbul - I mean, just take a look at that playoff bracket. Every single team looking like a stacked powerhouse side that could truly compete with each other. Could've been easily first on this list, however the group stage did not yield many huge surprises like Champions 2024.
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Champions 2023 Los Angeles - The most redeeming quality of Champions 2023 was the shock emergence of a Chinese team that could compete, apart from EDG, in the form of BLG. The only reason why this does not overtake the likes of Champions 2022 is because of how strong/unpredictable the playoffs teams were in other editions of the event.
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Champions 2021 Berlin - Unfortunately, 2021 as a whole was just less competitive than other years. Although many group stage anomalies occurred, with the likes of VS, NV, SEN dropping out, the lack of a double elimination format in the playoffs made the competitiveness of the group stage disappear.