The draw for the 2020 League of Legends World Championships will take place on September 15, with the games themselves starting on September 25. With every regional champion now decided following victories for G2 and Team SoloMid, the stage is set for Worlds.
This year, things will look a little different. For one thing, Vietnamese teams will not be present due to pandemic enforced travel restrictions between Vietnam and China, where Worlds will be hosted. Similar to the NBA, games will take place inside a bubble hub in Shanghai.
While the surrounding spectacle of Worlds may be reduced by the pandemic, the matches promise to be as fiercely fought as ever, with some returning greats in the mix, alongside some up-and-comers and some surprise additions. T1, the most successful team in the competition’s history, are yet to qualify, and must beat Afreeca Freecs and Gen.G in the LCK Regional Finals to grab the last available spot at this year’s Worlds.
T1’s failure to qualify via the Summer Playoffs has even led to the team receiving death threats, which the organisation has begun legal action against.
Worlds gets underway on September 25, with the winner set to be crowned on October 31.
A full list of teams attending can be found below, with the final LCK team the only place yet to be decided:
LCS (North America)
- TSM
- FlyQuest
- Team Liquid
LEC (Europe)
- G2 Esports
- Fnatic
- Rogue
- MAD Lions
LCK (South Korea)
- Damwon Gaming
- DRX
- TBD
PCS (TW/HK/MC/SEA)
- Machi Esports
- PSG Talon
LPL (China)
- Top Esports
- JD Gaming
- Suning
- LGD Gaming
VCS (Vietnam)
- No VCS teams will feature due to travel restrictions enforced by COVID
CBLOL (Brazil)
- INTZ
LCL (Russia)
- Unicorns of Love
LJL (Japan)
- V3 Esports
LLA (Latin America)
- Rainbow7
OPL (Oceania)
- Legacy Esports
TCL (Turkey)
- Papara SuperMassive
FunPlus Phoenix, last year’s winners, missed out on qualification this year.
