Blue Lock: What is the second selection? Explained

With Blue Lock set to premiere its second cour adapting the Second Selection Arc, fans of the anime are excited as they have something new to look forward to. Up till now, fans had only gotten to see the candidates only play with their teammates in the First Selection. However, the Second Selection could see some new team-ups, starting with Seishiro Nagi joining Isagi and Bachira.

Given the numerous possible match-ups in the Second Selection, fans can get confused about how it works. According to Jinpachi Ego's explanation, one player could go back and forth in the stages, which is somewhat confusing to the fans. So, let's look at how it works.

Blue Lock: How can a candidate pass the second selection?

Jinpachi Ego, as seen in the anime (Image via 8bit)

The Second Selection of Blue Lock has 125 candidates from the first selection out of all five strata. These candidates will participate in a Rivalry Battle, a level-based selection, where one can only go to the next stage after they clear the previous one.

As described by Ego, the candidates who clear this selection will participate in a strength training camp, which will begin with a 5v5 match against the best players from all around the world.

As for the selection itself, a candidate will have to go through four stages to pass this selection.

First Stage: This is an individual stage, as seen in the anime where Isagi was to score 100 goals within 90 minutes against the holographic goalkeeper Blue Lock Man. The striker is given a limited area and time, and they must quickly make their shots. After 30 goals, the difficulty increases as more holograms who act as defenders are added to the stage.

Blue Lock Man, as seen in the anime (Image via 8bit)

After 60 goals, these holograms start moving, making it even more difficult for a striker. Moreover, the balls that are launched towards the player are much faster and spin a lot more.

Second Stage: Initially, the second stage acts as a platform for the players to form their three-man teams for the third stage. This was seen in the anime as Nagi joined Isagi and Bachira. However, if a player were to lose their match during their third stage, they are pushed back to the "second stage," where the team is set for a 2v2 match against other candidates who had the same fate.

Isagi, Bachira, and Nagi as seen in Blue Lock (Image via 8bit)

The whole logic of all stages beyond the first stage is that a player must win their match against their opponents. If the team wins, they can pick a player from their opponents to go with them to the next stage. Meanwhile, the other players are sent back to the previous stage.

The end goal is to end up with five players on your team. Meanwhile, a candidate who is left out from being picked by the opposing team in the second stage, i.e., after the 2v2 game, is "eliminated" from Blue Lock.

However, they get another chance, as they are sent to a secret loser's qualifier, known as Wild Card, which acts as a secondary way of advancement to the third selection.

Kunigami and Chigiri, as seen in Blue Lock (Image via 8bit)

Thus, a winning team in the second stage proceeds to the third stage after choosing one of the opposing team's players, while the player from the losing team who does get picked is "eliminated."

Third Stage: All players begin the Second Selection's Rivalry Battle from this stage, where they are told the rules about the same. All matches for the Second Selection will only end after one team scores five goals against their opponents. The winning team proceeds to the fourth stage with one player from the opposing team, while the losing team goes to the second stage.

Ego Jinpachi, as seen in Blue Lock (Image via 8bit)

Fourth Stage: The fourth stage, or clear stage, is a match between teams of four as the winning team takes one member from the losing team and continues to the Third Selection. Meanwhile, the losing team will have to return to the third stage.