It’s time! The stage is set, and the spotlight is on the world’s 22 best teams headed for the crowning event of competitive League of Legends — the World Championship. The 2021 League of Legends World Championship kicks off on 5 October, and we’re here to walk you through every stage of the massive tournament.
2021 LEAGUE OF LEGENDS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2021 World Championship will take place in the Laugardalshöll indoor sporting arena in Reykjavík, Iceland, in the same venue where Royal Never Give Up earned their Worlds seed in this year’s MSI Finals against DAMWON Gaming. The World Championship welcomes 22 professional League of Legends teams instead of the standard 24; due to travel restrictions, two teams from the Vietnam Championship Series are unable to attend the event.
Fewer participating teams means that some restructuring is in order! The World Championship will be split into three stages: Play-Ins, Groups and Knockouts. The Play-In stage will feature 10 competing teams, four of which will join 12 other teams seeded directly into Groups. The 16 teams will be split into four groups, and the top two teams in each group will advance to the Knockouts.
➤ The Knockout stage begins on 22 October and will culminate in the Finals on 6 November at 13:00 CET (GMT+1). The final two teams will take centre stage and give it their best in a bid for the lion’s share of a massive $2,225,000 prize pool. That’s just the starting point! The purse will grow with qualifying in-game purchases made by players supporting their favourite teams.
2021 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY-INS
In the first stage of this year’s League of Legends World Championship, 10 teams will be drawn into two groups of five to compete for four available berths. Each team will play one game against every other team, and the top teams in each group will automatically advance to Groups. The third and fourth-place teams will play a best-of-five, the winners of which will challenge the second seeds of the opposing group for the remaining two spots.
GROUP A
Hanwha Life Esports — LCK (Korea)
LNG Esports — LPL (China)
Infinity — LLA (Latin America)
PEACE — LCO (Oceania)
RED Canids — CBLoL (Brazil)
GROUP B
Beyond Gaming — PCS (Southeast Asia)
Cloud9 — LCS (North America)
Unicorns of Love — LCL (CIS)
Galatasaray Esports — TCL (Turkey)
DetonatioN FocusMe — LJL (Japan)
PLAY-IN FORMAT
There will be two rounds in the Play-Ins, each with a different format.
Play-In Round 1
- All matches are Single Round Robin, Bo1.
- The top team in each Play-In group advances to the Group stage.
- The second, third and fourth-place teams proceed to Round 2.
- The bottom team is eliminated.
Play-In Round 2
- Round 2 features six teams from Round 1.
- All matches are Bo5.
- The third and fourth-place teams in each group will face each other. The winners will go up against the second-place teams of the other group.
- The two winning teams will advance to Groups, and the four losing teams will be eliminated.
2021 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Play-In Stage: 5 – 9 October
Group Stage: 11 – 18 October
Knockout Stage: 22 October – 6 November
WHERE TO WATCH THE 2021 LOL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
For the latest League of Legends World Championship broadcast schedule, VODs and standings, head to lolesports.com. All World Championship matches will be streamed live, with multilingual casters, analysts and interviewers.
LEAGUE OF LEGENDS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BETTING
To make the most of this year’s World Championship, head to our Sportsbook for the latest League of Legends odds and betting markets. You can wager on outright winners of each stage or kick your betting up a notch and wager on unique LoL betting markets like Team to Destroy First Tower and First Dragon Type.
The Play-Ins open at 13:00 CEST (BST+1) with Hanwha Life Esports, at 5/4 (2.25) to win, lining up against LNG Esports (Li-Ning Gaming) who are at 5/8 (1.62) to take the match and at 3/5 (1.60) to level the first tower to the ground.
NA favourites Cloud9 are looking at a promising start; the team is at 3/8 (1.38) to secure their first win in the tournament against DetonatioN FocusMe, who are at 19/10 (2.90) to stand their ground and at 3/5 (1.60) to win their 16:00 match against Unicorns of Love, at 13/10 (2.30).
On 7 October, Australians PEACE will shoot their last shot for Round 2 at 43/20 (3.15) to win against Brazil’s RED Canids, who are at 1/3 (1.33) to show teeth and carry their CBLoL form into a tournament with much stiffer competition.
LV BET
Stay up to date on the latest League of Legends news and tournaments with LV BET, your one-stop shop for all your sports betting needs, and tune in to the LV BET Sportblog for more on esports, live sports and all the biggest competitions of the year.
*Odds subject to change. Odds correct at time of publishing.