LoL: Worlds 2021 Viewership Guide – Teams, Format, Schedule & More

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LoL: Worlds 2021 Viewership Guide – Teams, Format, Schedule & More

Our complete guide to the format, teams, and schedule of Worlds 2021.


It feels like yesterday that we were gearing up for Worlds 2020. Excited to see if a Western side could challenge South Korea or China if North America could finally perform, and what Wildcard region could be set to spring a surprise. The global teams are now locked in for this year's 2021 World Championship, and details of the duration and format of the event have been made public, so we’ve got all the information you need to follow Worlds from start to finish.

Which teams qualified

China (LPL)

  • Edward Gaming
  • FunPlus Phoenix
  • Royal Never Give Up
  • LNG Esports *

South Korea (LCK)

  • DAMWON Gaming
  • Gen.G Esports
  • T1
  • Hanwha Life Esports*

Europe (LEC)

  • MAD Lions
  • Fnatic
  • Rogue

North America (LCS)

  • 100 Thieves
  • Team Liquid
  • Cloud9*

Taiwan/Hong Kong/ Southeast Asia (PCS)

  • PSG Talon
  • Beyond Gaming*

Japan (LJL)

  • DetonatioN FocusMe*

Turkey (TCL)

  • Galatasaray Esports*

Latin America (LLA)

  • Infinity*

Australia (LCO)

  • PEACE*

Brazil (CBLOL)

  • RED Canids*

Russia (LCL)

  • Unicorns of Love*

*Non-seeded sides will play in the Play-In stage first

Play-In Stage Format & Schedule

Round One:

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Starting from October 5-7, the Round One Play-in stage will feature group-based Bo1 matches. The teams are divided into two groups, with the top two sides progressing to the Group Stage. The sides in second, third and fourth will then move onto round two. The bottom-placed side of each group will be eliminated from Worlds.

Round Two:

Taking place between October 8-9, the Round Two stage will see the third and fourth-placed sides with the winner of that facing off against the second-placed side from the opposing group, with the winner moving to the Group Stage. All Round two matches will move to Bo5.

Group Stage Format & Schedule

Taking place between October 11-13 and October 15-18. All sixteen sides will be divided into four groups, with seeding defining said groups. Each group will play a double round-robin, with all matches played as Bo1. The top two teams will advance to the Playoffs stage, with the bottom two eliminated from Worlds 2021.

Playoffs and Finals Format & Schedule

Playoffs:

Taking place over two periods on October 22-25 and October 30-31. The eight remaining sides will play single-elimination Bo5 matches, with the first-placed sides playing second-placed sides from a different group.

Side Selection:

The higher seeded team will be given side selection privilege for the first game, with the losing side being offered it following a defeat. In the Quarter-finals, the first place side will continue to keep side selection privilege. If sides are evenly seeded, a coin toss will decide the first map privilege.

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Grand Finals:

The Grand Final will take place on November 6. The series will also be Bo5.

Champion Bans and patch

Akshan and Vex will be disabled for the duration of Worlds as neither has been enabled for the duration of playoffs in the four top regions (LPL, LCK, LEC, LCS). Worlds will be played in full on League of Legends patch 11.19.

Prize Pool

A total Prize Pool of just over $2 million is on offer, with more likely to be added with Worlds tie-in skin promotions. The Prize Pool split will be as follows:

  • 1st: 37.5%
  • 2nd:13.5%
  • 3rd-4th: 7%
  • 5th-8th: 4%

Worlds Location

After being originally planned for China in 2021, Worlds was instead moved to Reykjavík, Iceland at the Laugardalshöll indoor sporting arena. The same location as MSI 2021. The tournament will be without fans and will be played entirely on LAN.

LoL: Worlds 2021 Viewership Guide – Teams, Format, Schedule & More
David Hollingsworth
David has written for games media outlets for the last ten years. With his first major esports role being with Esports News UK covering mostly UK League of Legends. David is also a member of the British Esports Association and is an advisor to them on World of Warcraft Esports. More recently David has worked for Esports Insider and Red Bull as an esports journalist. David later became Editor at ESTNN and now leads the current team.