What is the World Championship?
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The League of Legends World Championship (also known as Worlds) is the premier yearly international tournament that brings together the top teams to compete for the Summoner’s Cup and earn the title of World Champion. More than 800 players on 100+ professional League of Legends esports teams compete across a dozen leagues globally throughout the year to qualify for the tournament. The event moves between host regions each year; this year, teams will compete in Reykjavik, Iceland.
When is Worlds happening?
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Worlds begins with the Play-In Stage on October 5 and will conclude with Finals on November 6. Individual stage dates are listed below.
What’s the format?
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Worlds is composed of three stages: the Play-In Stage, the Group Stage, and the Knockout Stage (Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals). A detailed breakdown of each stage is below.
Where will Worlds take place?
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The entire tournament will be held in the Laugardalshöll indoor sporting arena, Hall A, in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Which teams are competing?
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A region’s seeds are based on past international performance. Consistently strong regions send some or all of their seeds straight to the Group Stage, whereas other regions receive fewer seeds and/or start in the Play-In Stage.
This year, the teams competing from each of the different regions are:
**CHINA – LPL**
1st Seed: EDward Gaming (EDG)
2nd Seed: FunPlus Phoenix (FPX)
3rd Seed: Royal Never Give Up (RNG)
4th Seed: LNG Esports (LNG)
**KOREA – LCK**
1st Seed: DWG KIA (DK)
2nd Seed: Gen. G (GEN)
3rd Seed: T1 (T1)
4th Seed: Hanwha Life Esports (HLE)
**EUROPE – LEC**
1st Seed: MAD Lions (MAD)
2nd Seed: Fnatic (FNC)
3rd Seed: Rogue (RGE)
**NORTH AMERICA – LCS**
1st Seed: 100 Thieves (100)
2nd Seed: Team Liquid (TL)
3rd Seed: Cloud9 (C9)
**SOUTHEAST ASIA – PCS**
1st Seed: PSG.Talon Esports (PSG)
2nd Seed: Mega Bank Beyond Gaming (BYG)
**BRAZIL – CBLOL**
RED Canids Kalunga (RED)
**COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES – LCL**
Unicorns of Love (UOL)
**JAPAN – LJL**
DetonatioN FocusMe (DFM)
**LATIN AMERICA – LLA**
INFINITY (INF)
**OCEANIA – LCO**
PEACE (PCE)
**TURKEY – TCL**
Galatasaray Esports (GS)
How are these teams split into their Groups?
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**Play-Ins**
The 10 teams starting in the Play-In stage are split into two pools. Pool A consists of LNG, HLE, C9, and BYG. Pool B consists of RED, UOL, DFM, INF, PCE, and GS. We will draw these teams into the two Play-In Groups. Each Play-In group will contain two Pool A teams and three Pool B teams.
**Group Stage**
The twelve teams starting in the Group Stage are split into three pools. Pool A consists of EDG, DK, MAD, and PSG. Pool B consists of FPX, GEN, FNC, and 100. Pool C consists of RNG, T1, RGE, and TL . We will draw these teams into the four Group Stage Groups. Each Group will contain one team from each of the draw pools. Additionally, no team may be in the same group as another team from their region. In the case where a team is drawn into a position that would either directly violate this rule, or could force this rule to be violated by a future draw, the team will move to the next available group slot.
Want to watch the draws live? Tune in for the Draw Show at 5 a.m. PT (12 p.m. GMT/2 p.m. CEST/8 p.m. CST) September 22.
What’s changed for 2021?
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**Format**
Unfortunately, due to the global pandemic’s continuing impact on travel, Vietnam (VCS) will be unable to compete in Iceland this year. The VCS teams will be awarded their full share of the Worlds prize pool as if they had competed in the event.
With VCS being unable to compete, the one Group seed and one Play-In spot that were allocated to the region will be removed from the competition. This will result in a total of 22 teams participating at Worlds instead of the traditional 24. To account for the reduced number of teams, several format changes will be implemented for the Play-In Stage. The Play-In Stage will now feature 10 teams instead of the usual 12. More details are below as we breakdown each stage of the event.
**Roster Update**
Similar to Worlds 2020, we are adjusting our roster rules to account for the unique challenges posed due to COVID-19. Typically, the roster lock date for Worlds takes place in early-September, and teams can adjust their rosters freely up until that point. This year, this process is significantly complicated by the stricter travel restrictions in place from COVID-19. If a team encounters an issue with a player being able to travel, they cannot realistically add a free agent (or change their subs) to replace someone. To help mitigate this, we’ve implemented a limited loan program that would allow teams to borrow a player from another team in their league who received a visa for Worlds but did not end up qualifying. All loan requests must be approved by our tournament officials. This program is not intended to be a strategic tool for teams to upgrade their roster - loans will only be granted for issues truly outside of the team and players’ control.
Worlds Stages Breakdown
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**Play-In Stage: October 5-9**
The 10 play-in teams will be split into two groups of five teams each. Each team will play one game against every other team in their group. The top team in each group will automatically advance to the Group Stage. Third- and fourth-place teams will play a best-of-five, with winners challenging the other group’s second seed for the last two spots. These matches will determine the four Play-In teams that move on to the Group Stage. Following the conclusion of all matches of the Play-Ins, the four teams that have advanced will be drawn randomly into the existing Group Stage groups, following the rule that no team may be in the same group as another team from its region.
**Group Stage: October 11-13; October 15-18**
The top 4 teams from the Play-in stage will join the 12 teams who directly qualified for the Group stage. These 16 teams will be split into four groups of four, with each competitor playing against every team in their group twice. The top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the Knockout Stage.
**Knockout Stage: Oct. 22-25 (Quarterfinals); Oct. 30-31 (Semifinals); Nov. 6 (Finals)**
Eight teams move on to the Knockout Stage, which encompasses Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals. For this stage, the tournament transitions to a single-elimination bracket with all matches played in a best-of-five format. Matchups are decided by an on-stage draw following the final day of the Group Stage.
The team that comes out on top will become the 2021 World Champions.
**How do I watch?**
You can catch every match on lolesports.com! See the match schedule below:
