League of Legends World Championship

Riot Games' most prestigious international esports tournament for League of Legends, commonly known as Worlds.

League of Legends World Championship

Overview

The League of Legends World Championship (리그 오브 레전드 월드 챔피언십) is the most prestigious international esports tournament for League of Legends (LoL), hosted by Riot Games and commonly known as 'Worlds' (롤드컵). Since the first tournament was held in Jönköping, Sweden, in 2011, top teams from regional leagues have competed every autumn, and it records the world's largest viewership for a single-title esports tournament. The winning team lifts the 'Summoner's Cup,' and the players on the winning roster earn the privilege of having commemorative skins for champions they selected produced in-game.

Key Details

History and Evolution

The first tournament, the 2011 Season World Championship, was held at the DreamHack Summer venue in Jönköping, Sweden, with eight teams participating, and Europe's Fnatic became the inaugural champion. In 2012, Taiwan's Taipei Assassins won, signaling the rise of Asia, and in 2013 SK Telecom T1 took its first title, then built a dynasty with consecutive titles in 2015 and 2016. In the final held at the Beijing National Stadium (Bird's Nest) in 2017, Samsung Galaxy defeated SKT to win, and in the final held at Incheon Munhak Stadium in 2018, China's Invictus Gaming (IG) defeated Fnatic, bringing the Chinese LPL its first title. FunPlus Phoenix in Paris in 2019, DAMWON Gaming in Shanghai in 2020, EDward Gaming in Reykjavík in 2021, and DRX in San Francisco in 2022 won, creating a new narrative each year. In 2023, at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, T1 returned to the top after seven years, and in the final held in London in 2024, T1 defeated BLG to achieve its fifth overall title. In 2025, the tournament was held in China, and T1 rose to the top again, completing three consecutive titles.

Tournament Structure and Format

The World Championship runs for about two months from late September to November each year and consists of the Play-In Stage, Swiss Stage (formerly the group stage), and Knockout Stage (quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals). The Play-In Stage was introduced in 2017, expanding opportunities for teams from minor regions outside the major regions to reach the main event, and in 2023 the existing four-team group stage was replaced by the Swiss format, creating tension in which every match carries elimination risk. The final is played as a best-of-five (Bo5), and the host location rotates across continents each year. The number of participating teams has expanded from 16 to 20, and multiple slots are allocated to the four major leagues: Korea (LCK), China (LPL), Europe (LEC), and North America (LCS/LTA).

Champions and Records

The past champions are Fnatic (2011), Taipei Assassins (2012), SK Telecom T1 (2013, 2015, 2016), Samsung White (2014), Samsung Galaxy (2017), Invictus Gaming (2018), FunPlus Phoenix (2019), DAMWON Gaming (2020), EDward Gaming (2021), DRX (2022), and T1 (2023, 2024, 2025). T1 holds the record for most titles with six overall wins, and mid laner Lee Sang-hyeok (Faker) set an unprecedented record of six personal titles from 2013 to 2025. Teams from Korea's LCK have taken more than half of all titles and maintain their status as the region with the most World Championship titles.

Symbols and Culture

The World Championship has become more than a tournament and has established itself as a cultural phenomenon. The theme song announced each year becomes a symbol of the tournament, with representative examples including Imagine Dragons' 'Warriors' (2014), 'Legends Never Die' (2017), 'Rise' (2018), NewJeans' 'Gods' (2023), and Linkin Park's 'Heavy Is The Crown' (2024). The opening ceremony draws attention with performances combining augmented reality and large-scale stage production, and players on the winning team have skins produced for the champions in which they performed, with a portion of game revenue distributed to them. The final records millions of concurrent viewers each year, and the 2024 final was counted as reaching a peak concurrent viewership of about 6.9 million.

Recent Developments

The 2024–2025 World Championship underwent major changes alongside regional league integration and restructuring. In 2024, North America's LCS was reorganized into the LTA system combined with South America, and the method of allocating World Championship slots and the Play-In structure were also adjusted. In the 2024 London final, T1 defeated BLG 3–2 to achieve its fifth overall title, and at the 2025 event hosted in China, T1 also reached the final and won, writing new history with a third consecutive title. The 2025 tournament expanded to 20 teams, the Swiss Stage pairing method was partially reorganized, and while the prize pool remained around $2–2.5 million, ecosystem support through in-game skins and event revenue was strengthened. In addition, the rotation of host locations between China and Korea, hosting finals in large stadiums, and discussions linking esports with the Asian Games and Olympics are interlocking to raise the status of the World Championship further. The host location and slot system for the 2026 tournament are also awaiting announcement, drawing keen fan interest.