League of Legends Worlds – dates, winners, prize pools, and more

It’s the climax of the League of Legends calendar. It’s the biggest, most-watched event in all of esports. It is, of course, the League of Legends World Championship.

Worlds sees the planet’s best League of Legends teams of the year  battle it out and become world champions. Worlds 2021 was one of the biggest yet, breaking esports viewership records. 2021’s thrilling five-game final between DWG KIA and EDward Gaming saw over four million people tune in at its peak – and that’s not counting the Chinese audience.

The entire tournament spans more than a month from the play-ins to the grand final so there’s a lot of top-tier competitive League of Legends to whet appetites. But if you’ve never tuned in before, or want some more information about what is the esports calendar’s biggest event, we’ve got you covered. From dates, to format, to previous champions, here’s all the info you need around LoL Worlds.

When is League of Legends Worlds?

League of Legends Worlds 2022 begins on September 29, 2022. The tournament is set to run until November 5, 2022.

Related: The League of Legends ranking system explained

Worlds 2022 is also set to host a live audience for the first time since 2020’s event.

League of Legends Worlds 2022 location

LoL Worlds 2022 is set to take place across Mexico and the United States. Worlds was also supposed to be part-hosted in Canada, but COVID made it untenable.

As it stands, here are the cities and venues where each stage of the tournament will be played:

• Play-Ins: Liga Latinoamerica Arena, Mexico City, Mexico
• Group Stage and Quarterfinals: Hulu Theatre, New York City, USA
• Semifinals: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
• Finals: Chase Center, San Francisco, USA

League OF Legends Worlds 2022 schedule

Here is the Worlds 2022 Schedule:

• Play-In Stage: September 29 – October 4, 2022
• Group Stage: October 7-10, 2022
• Quarterfinals: October 20-23, 2022
• Semi-finals: October 29-30, 2022
• Finals: November 5, 2022

What is the League of Legends Worlds prize pool?

The League of Legends World Championship has an initial prize pool of $2,225,000. This is likely to grow, however, since Riot Games often adds a percentage of in-game sales from Championship skins.

Which teams are in League of Legends Worlds 2022?

Here are the teams that are currently qualified for Worlds 2022:

• Rogue (LEC)
• G2 Esports (LEC)
• Fnatic (LEC)
• MAD Lions (LEC)
• Gen.G (LCK)
• T1 (LCK)
• DRX (LCK)
• Damwon Gaming (LCK)
• EDward Gaming (LPL)
• Top Esports (LPL)
• JD Gaming (LPL)
• Royal Never Give Up (LPL)
• Cloud9 (LCS)
• 100 Thieves (LCS)
• Evil Geniuses (LCS)
• DetonatioN FocusMe (LJL)
• Evil Geniuses (LCS)
• LOUD (CBLOL)
• Istanbul Wildcats (TCL)
• Isurus (LLA)
• Chiefs Esports Club (LCO)
• CTBC Flying Oyster (PCS)
• Beyond Gaming (PCS)
• GAM Esports (VCS)
• Saigon Buffalo (VCS)

Usually the 16 spots in the League of Legends Worlds group stage are filled by the 12 top seeded teams from China, Korea, Europe, North America, Vietnam, and the Taiwan / Hong Kong / Macao / Southeast Asia region, with the remaining four spots in the group stages being filled by the four winners of the play-ins.

The teams which win the previous year’s Worlds, as well as the current year’s MSI, also grant their regions one extra spot. EDward gaming won Worlds 2021, granting the LPL an extra spot. Although fellow Chinese side Royal Never Give Up won the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational, the region already had four slots, with the LCK subsequently being awarded one.

As the LCL will not be taking part in Worlds 2022, the European LEC has also been given a fourth slot.

This is what the seeding looks like for LoL Worlds 2022:

• Four teams each: LPL (China), LCK (South Korea), LEC (Europe)
• Three teams each: LCS (North America)
• Two teams each: PCS (Taiwan / Hong Kong / Macao / Southeast Asia), VCS (Vietnam)
• One team each: CBLOL (Brazil), TCL (Turkey), LJL (Japan), LLA (Latin America), LCO (Oceania),

Here are how the seedings work for the Play-In Stage:

• China (LPL) – 4th Seed
• Korea (LCK) – 4th Seed
• Europe (LEC) – 3rd and 4th Seed
• North America (LCS) – 3rd Seed
• Southeast Asia (PCS) – 2nd Seed
• Vietnam (VCS) – 2nd Seed
• Brazil (CBLOL) – 1st Seed
• Japan (LJL) – 1st Seed
• Latin America (LLA) – 1st Seed
• Oceania (LCO) -1st Seed
• Turkey (TCL) – 1st Seed

And here are the seeds which will automatically qualify for the Group Stage:

• China (LPL) – 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Seeds
• Korea (LCK) – 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Seeds
• Europe (LEC) – 1st and 2nd Seeds
• North America (LCS) – 1st and 2nd Seeds
• Southeast Asia (PCS) – 1st Seed
• Vietnam (VCS) – 1st Seed

league of legends worlds 2022 play-in Stage groups

These are the Worlds 2022 Play-In Stage groups:

Group A

• Fnatic (LEC)
• DRX (LCK)
• Detonation FocusMe (LJL)
• Evil Geniuses (LCS)
• LOUD (CBLOL)
• Chiefs Esports Club (LCO)

Group B

• Beyond Gaming (PCS)
• Royal Never Give Up (LPL)
• Saigon Buffalo (VCS)
• MAD Lions (LEC)
• Istanbul Wildcats (TCL)
• Isurus Gaming (LLA)

The best four teams from the play-ins qualify for the group stage.

League of Legends Worlds 2022 Play-In Stage Schedule

Here is the Worlds 2022 Play-In Stage schedule. All games for the first four days kick off at 13:00 PT / 16:00 ET / 21:00 BST, while the Elimination and Qualification rounds – which take place on days five and six – start at 11:00 PT / 14:00 ET / 19:00 BST.

Day One

• Isurus vs MAD Lions
• Fnatic vs Evil Geniuses
• LOUD vs Beyond Gaming
• MAD Lions vs Istanbul Wildcats
• The Chiefs vs Fnatic
• DetonatioN FocusMe vs LOUD
• Saigon Buffalo vs Istanbul Wildcats
• DRX vs Royal Never Give Up

Day Two

• Fnatic vs DetonatioN FocusMe
• Evil Geniuses vs LOUD
• Saigon Buffalo vs Isurus
• DetonatioN FocusMe vs The Chiefs
• Evil Geniuses vs Beyond Gaming
• DRX vs Saigon Buffalo
• MAD Lions vs Royal Never Give Up
• Istanbul Wildcats vs DRX

Day Three

• LOUD vs Fnatic
• MAD Lions vs Saigon Buffalo
• Beyond Gaming vs DetonatioN FocusMe
• Evil Geniuses vs The Chiefs
• Royal Never Give Up vs Isurus
• The Chiefs vs Beyond Gaming
• Royal Never Give Up vs International Wildcats
• Isurus vs DRX

Day Four

• Beyond Gaming vs Fnatic
• LOUD vs The Chiefs
• DetonatioN FocusMe vs Evil Geniuses
• Istanbul Wildcats vs Isurus
• DRX vs MAD Lions
• Royal Never Give Up vs Saigon Buffalo

Day Five

• TBD vs TBD
• TBD vs TBD

Day Six

• TBD vs TBD
• TBD vs TBD

League of Legends Worlds 2022 Group Stage groups

Here are the League of Legends Worlds 2022 Group Stage groups:

Group A

• C9
• T1
• EDward Gaming
• Play-Ins Team

Group B

• JDG
• G2 Esports
• DWG KIA
• Play-Ins Team

Group C

• Rogue
• Top Esports
• GAM Esports
• Play-Ins Team

Group D

• Gen.G
• CTBC Flying Oyster
• 100 Thieves
• Play-Ins Team

League of Legends Worlds 2021 Knockout Stage

Quarterfinals

With the top eight teams decided, it was time to move into the Knockout Stage of the tournament.

The quarterfinals had its fair share of storylines: MAD Lions would get its shot at redemption against DWG KIA after losing at the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational. Meanwhile, Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok would go toe-to-toe with Jeong ‘Chovy’ Ji-hoon – the man many have touted as the next major LoL star.

• EDward Gaming (3:2) Royal Never Give Up
• Gen.G (3:0) Cloud9
• T1 (3:0) Hanwha Life Esports
• DWG KIA (3:0) MAD Lions

Semifinals

Heading into the semifinals, DWG KIA would face off against the team it had 3-1’d in the 2021 LCK Summer Playoffs, T1. For many, this was the unofficial final of this year’s Worlds.

On the other side of the bracket, EDward Gaming had already cemented its best ever finish in the tournament after six Worlds showings, but wasn’t ready to settle for a top four spot.

• DWG KIA (3:2) T1
• EDward Gaming (3:2) Gen.G

Finals

This year’s finals saw EDward Gaming cause quite the upset. With DWG KIA the firm favourite, most expected the LCK representative to sweep the Chinese first seed aside. However, after an immense five-game series, EDG secured the LPL’s third Worlds title in four years.

• EDward Gaming (3:2) DWG KIA

How do I watch League of Legends Worlds?

The League of Legends World Championship is broadcast on the official Riot Games Twitch channel. There will be complete coverage of the whole tournament, from play-ins all the way to the final.

Alternatively, you can view all the action from the League of Legends website, where you can also sign up for Pro View. This allows you to watch the action unfold in real-time from whichever angles and perspectives you want, including a POV from any of the players in a game.

Who has won League of Legends Worlds?

The current League of Legends Worlds champion is LPL team EDward Gaming. It took down previous world champion side DWG KIA 3-2 in the 2021 Worlds final in Shanghai.

EDG midlaner Lee ‘Scout’ Ye-chan was crowned Worlds final MVP.

Historically, T1 (previously SK Telecom) is the most successful team of all-time with three Worlds titles.

These are the teams that have won the League of Legends World Championship: