2022 LCS Lock-In Tournament Groups Announced

The 2022 League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) Lock-In Tournament is set to return on January 14 to kick off the new season. And with only one month left before the opening bouts, the organizers have officially revealed the seeding of the groups.

The opening League of Legends esports tournament of the 2022 LCS season, the LCS Lock-In, will kick off on Friday, January 14. Like last year, the ten teams will be divided into two groups of five, with the top four teams from each group advancing into the playoffs.

While there’s still a month separating us from the opening tournament of the 2022 LCS season, the groups have already been unveiled. And the revealed seedings have presented us with some exciting matches to kick off the new season with a bang.

As revealed by the LCS on Wednesday, December 15, Group A will feature 100 Thieves, Cloud9, TSM, Golden Guardians, and FlyQuest. Meanwhile, Group B will consist of Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses, Immortals, CLG, and Dignitas.

2022 LCS Lock-In Group A

• 100 Thieves
• Cloud9
• TSM
• Golden Guardians
• FlyQues

2022 LCS Lock-In Group B

• Team Liquid
• Evil Geniuses
• Immortals
• CLG
• Dignitas

The 2022 LCS Lock-In will kick off on January 14 and conclude on Sunday, January 30, with the tournament’s final match. Like last year, the tournament champions will pocket the entire prize pool of $150,000, with the rest of the field entering the new season empty-handed.

The tournament will see two groups of five LCS LoL esports teams compete in a single-round robin format, with all group stage matches played as best-of-one (Bo1). Each group’s top four teams will advance into the playoffs, while the bottom teams get eliminated.

The Knockout Stage will welcome eight participants to compete in a single-elimination bracket. The quarter-finals will be played as best-of-three (Bo3), while semi-finals and finals are best-of-five (Bo5).

The seeding for the Knockout Stage will match the top team from one group with the lowest-placed team from the other and vice versa. Like last year, the final stage seeding for the quarter-finals will look as follows.

1. Seed #A1 vs Seed #B4
2. Seed #A3 vs Seed #B2
3. Seed #A2 vs Seed #B3
4. Seed #A4 vs Seed #B1

The esports bookmakers have already released betting odds for the 2022 LCS Lock-In and have valued Team Liquid as the main favorites to win their second LCS Lock-In title. Priced at 2.50, Team Liquid are expected to dominate the tournament, albeit they should face fierce competition from Cloud9 (3.00).

Below the top two favorites are the reigning LCS champions, 100 Thieves, priced at 4.33. 100 Thieves are currently also the only other LoL esports teams whose odds are in single digits.

Below the three are Evil Geniuses (10.00), TSM (16.00), and Immortals (17.00) as underdogs. Priced as compete outsiders are Golden Guardians (26.00), FlyQuest (51.00), Dignitas (81.00), and CLG (101.0), who the bookmakers are giving little to no chance to succeed.

The pricing makes a lot of sense, namely with the top favorites. Team Liquid was a strong team last season and head into the 2022 season even more robust.

Liquid have made significant changes to their roster, bringing in some of Europe’s biggest stars to form a new LCS LoL esports superteam. Likewise, Cloud9 made substantial changes to its LoL division, replacing a majority of its roster and coaching staff.

Of the top teams, 100 Thieves are the only team who have not made any changes. That, however, is hardly a negative given their success in 2021, when they proved that they are one of the top teams in the North American region.

Whether the top teams will justify their tags as the favorites remains to be seen. But we should get a clearer answer on Friday, January 14, when the 2022 LCS Lock-In title race will begin.