The second group stage of the Demacia Cup concluded on December 25, sealing the fate of several teams and setting up the quarterfinal matchups. On December 26, the most anticipated best-of series of this stage will take place, featuring Invictus Gaming against Top Esports.

December 27 will see JD Gaming face EDward Gaming, followed by Oh My God versus LNG Esports on December 28. Finally, the quarterfinals will wrap up on December 29 with LGD Gaming taking on Anyone’s Legend.

Surprises in the group stage

The group stage was full of surprises, partly because teams didn’t always field their main rosters. For example, Bilibili Gaming managed to win only one of their four BO3s and thus finished last in their group. Similarly, Weibo Gaming ended with a 2-2 record and were also eliminated, failing to progress in the competition.

The teams that dominated the groups were EDG in Group A and LNG in Group B, finishing 4-0 and 3-1 respectively. EDG was followed by iG at 3-1 and LGD at 2-2, while LNG had JDG and OMG behind them, both at 2-2. AL and TES skipped this stage, as they were the best-performing teams at the 2025 Worlds, and thus went straight to the quarterfinals.

Starry leads the MVP race

So far in the competition, OMG’s AD Carry Lei "Starry" Ming has claimed five MVP awards. He is closely followed by LNG’s new Korean jungler Kim "Croco" Dong-beom and EDG’s jungler Peng "Xiaohao" Hao, both with four MVPs. Finally, JDG’s ADC Chen "GALA" Wei and LGD’s jungler Yang "Heng" Cui-Heng complete the podium with three MVPs each.

The group stage was played entirely in BO3 format and online. Starting from the semifinals, matches will be held offline at the Xi'an Qujiang Esports Center, and coaches will be allowed to use Coach Comms. Additionally, in-game 3 of a best-of-three or game 5 of a best-of-five, the games are blind pick with no bans.

This last rule has led to several unusual situations in modern League of Legends. On multiple occasions when a BO went to Game 3, both junglers often picked Jayce, and several mirror matchups were also seen, including Orianna in midlane, Rumble in toplane, and mirrored botlanes with Yunara and Neeko on both sides.