The 2021 League of Legends World Championship gets underway on Oct. 5 with the play-in stage and culminates, an action-packed month later, with the finals on Nov. 6.
Hosted in Reykjavik, Iceland’s Laugardalshöll indoor sporting arena, the most celebrated esports event of the year will bring together the top League of Legends teams from around the world to compete for the Summoner’s Cup, a multi-million dollar prize pool, and the title of World Champion.
Here’s how to watch Worlds 2021.
Format
Worlds 2021 will follow a similar format to the previous World Championship.
- Worlds 2021 will be comprised of three stages, including the play-in stage, the group stage, and the knockout stage
- With the VCS, Vietnam’s regional league, unable to compete, a total of 22 teams will participate at the event
- The play-in stage will feature 10 teams that will be split into two groups of five
- The top four teams from the play-ins will join 12 teams in the group stage
- The 16 teams in the group stage will be split into four groups of four. The top teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage
- The knockout stage, comprised of the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals, will feature eight teams in a single-elimination, best-of-five bracket
Schedule
You can watch Worlds 2021 on several platforms, including lolesports.com, Twitch, and YouTube. The event will feature live commentary and analysis from an international team of broadcast talent.
- Play-in stage: Oct. 5 to 9
- Group stage: Oct. 11 to 13 and Oct. 15 to 18
- Quaterfinals: Oct. 22 to 25
- Semifinals: Oct. 30 to 31
- Finals: Nov. 6
Matches to watch
- Oct. 11 – DWG KIA vs. FunPlus Phoenix: The opening match of the group stage offers viewers a taste of what they could expect to see in the finals. DK and FPX are two of the favorites of the tournament, having dominated in their regions this season. It will be interesting to see how the former world champions face up against each other on the big stage.
- Oct 12 – Fnatic vs. RNG: These teams have matched up against each other an extraordinary six times since Worlds 2017, carving out a rivalry, if one-sided. RNG have come out on top in five of those six matches, but Fnatic have always put up a fight.
- Oct. 19 – Team Liquid vs. MAD Lions: EU or NA? MAD Lions and Team Liquid are arguably the strongest teams in their regions. The winner of this hotly anticipated matchup will give viewers an early indication of who might be the best in the west.
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