All 17 organizations in the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) will be competing in Wild Rift in the LPL Qualifier from Sept. 11 to 30. The teams will battle it out for five slots in the Wild Rift League and one spot in the first World Championship for the mobile game later this year.
The competition was supposed to begin on Sept. 6 but was postponed when the organizers complied with China’s new restrictions for under 18-year-old gamers in the country. The Wild Rift League is an upcoming competition for the game in China, the details of which haven’t been revealed yet. Twelve teams will qualify for it through three tracks: the LPL Qualifier, Influencer Track, and the National Grand Tournament.
Adding to the stakes, the winner of the LPL Qualifier will be the second Chinese team at the Wild Rift World Championship 2021. That event will take place later this year with 12 teams from around the world competing for the title of the first Wild Rift world champions.
Related: Retired LPL pros Uzi and Misaya will star in a Wild Rift reality show
Even though the game hasn’t been released in China yet, all LPL organizations have already signed rosters in Wild Rift. Outside of Suning, they all also competed in a warm-up tournament in July called the Super Burning Cup, where Oh My God was crowned the champion.
The teams in the LPL Qualifier are as follows:
- BiliBili Gaming
- Edward Gaming
- FunPlus Phoenix
- Invictus Gaming
- JD Gaming
- LGD Gaming
- LNG Esports
- Oh My God
- Rare Atom
- Rogue Warriors
- Royal Never Give Up
- Team WE
- ThunderTalk Gaming
- Top Esports
- Ultra Prime
- Victory Five
- Suning
The tournament has been divided into three stages, according to Liquipedia. These are the group stage, breakout, and playoffs.
The 17 teams will be divided into four groups. One of the groups will have five teams while the other three will consist of four teams each. The teams will compete in a single round-robin format within their groups. The winner of each group will directly advance to the playoffs while the second and third-placed teams will make it to the breakout stage.
In the breakout stage, the third-placed team from one group will face the runners-up of another group. The winner of each match will advance to the next stage. Thus, four teams from here will make it to the playoffs. The eight teams in the playoffs will compete in a double-elimination bracket to crown a champion.
The winner of the LPL Qualifier will join Da Kun Gaming as the Chinese teams at the Wild Rift World Championship. Da Kun Gaming qualified for the World Championship after winning the Spark Invitational last month.
