Riot Games has announced the five cities that will play host to the 2021 League of Legends World Championship later this year. The event, which will be held across China this fall, will be held in Shanghai, Qingdao, Wuhan, Chengdu, and Shenzhen.
Worlds 2021 will culminate with the event’s grand finals on Nov. 6 at the Universiade Sports Centre in Shenzhen, China, a venue that can seat 60,000 people in the heart of China’s fifth-largest city.
The 2021 iteration of Worlds will mark the third time in the history of professional League that the tournament will be held in China. The tournament was held in China last year, and was originally meant to head to North America this season, but Riot wanted to do everything in its power this season to “bring the live sporting experience to fans across the country as originally intended,” according to a statement made last summer.
Last year, the tournament was played entirely in Shanghai. A limited number of fans were allowed to attend the grand finals due to COVID-19 restrictions, while the play-in stage, group stage, quarterfinals, and semifinals were each played in a bubble-like environment with no fans in attendance at all.
The last time the World Championship was played in China under normal health circumstances in 2017, matches were played in Wuhan, Guangzhou, and Shanghai, while the grand finals of the event were held in Beijing.
A start date for the 2021 League of Legends World Championship has yet to be announced.
