2021 League of Legends World Championship

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League of Legends World Championship
2021
Tournament information
SportLeague of Legends
LocationIceland
DatesOctober 5–November 6
AdministratorRiot Games
Tournament
format(s)
10 team single round-robin play-in stage
16 team double round-robin group stage
8 team single-elimination bracket
Venue(s)Laugardalshöll (Reykjavík)
Teams22
Final positions
ChampionEdward Gaming
Runner-upDWG KIA
Tournament statistics
AttendancePeak viewership: 73,860,742[1]
MVPLee "Scout" Ye-chan (Edward Gaming)
← 2020
2022 →

The 2021 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the eleventh iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. The tournament was held from 5 October to 6 November in Reykjavík, Iceland.[2] Twenty two teams from 11 regions qualified for the tournament based on their placement in regional circuits such as those in China, Europe, North America, South Korea and Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau/Southeast Asia with ten of those teams having to reach the main event via a play-in stage.

"Burn It All Down" was the tournament's theme song, put together by PVRIS, while Denzel Curry, CIFIKA, Besomorph, and Wang Yibo from Uniq, produced their own respective remix versions of "Burn It All Down".[3][4]

Edward Gaming of China's LPL defeated the defending world champions, DWG KIA of Korea's LCK, to win their first World Championship title.

Impact of coronavirus on the tournament[edit]

The COVID-19 pandemic, which was mainly confined to China in January and early February 2020, once again affected the scheduled multi-city hosting format that was most recently present for the 2019 League of Legends World Championship. On June 16, Riot Games originally announced the dates and locations of the event, with the event taking place in Shanghai, Qingdao, Wuhan, Chengdu, and the finals taking place in Shenzhen.[5][6] However, due to travel complications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, Riot Games announced Reykjavík, Iceland (where the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational had been hosted), as the new host city for the event.[7]

Due to complications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, two teams from the VCS (Vietnam) were once again unable to participate in the tournament.[8]

Like the 2020 event, the tournament did not feature a live audience as result of the pandemic.[9]

Qualified teams[edit]

South Korea (LCK) and China (LPL) received an additional spot in the group stage, totaling up to four representatives each for their respective region. The qualification format for North America (LCS) changed to a one-season-per-year system, with the seeding decided by the cumulative scoreboard from the whole season and the results from their respective championship series.

Due to Vietnam (VCS) being unable to field teams for the event, the third seed from Europe (LEC) received direct entry into the group stage.[10]

Top 4 regions in 2021 Mid-Season Invitational (LPL, LCK, LEC, PCS) are seeded to pool 1 in the main event's group stage for the summer champion.

Region League Path Team ID Pool
Starting in the main event's group stage
China LPL Summer Champion Edward Gaming EDG 1
Most Championship Points FunPlus Phoenix FPX 2
Regional Finals Winner Royal Never Give Up RNG 3
Europe LEC Summer Champion MAD Lions MAD 1
Summer Runner-Up Fnatic FNC 2
Summer Third Place Rogue RGE 3
South Korea LCK Summer Champion DWG KIA DK 1
Most Championship Points Gen.G GEN 2
Regional Finals Winner T1 T1 3
North America LCS Summer Champion 100 Thieves 100 2
Summer Runner-Up Team Liquid TL 3
TW/HK/MO/SEA PCS Summer Champion PSG Talon PSG 1
Starting in the play-in stage
China LPL Regional Finals Runner-Up LNG Esports LNG 1
South Korea LCK Regional Finals Runner-Up Hanwha Life Esports HLE
North America LCS Summer Third Place Cloud9 C9
TW/HK/MO/SEA PCS Summer Runner-Up Beyond Gaming BYG
CIS LCL Summer Champion Unicorns of Love UOL 2
Latin America LLA Infinity Esports INF
Turkey TCL Galatasaray Esports GS
Brazil CBLOL RED Canids RED
Japan LJL DetonatioN FocusMe DFM
Oceania LCO PEACE PCE

Venue[edit]

Reykjavík was the city chosen to host the competition. All matches were played at Laugardalshöll without spectators.[2]

Reykjavík, Iceland
Laugardalshöll

Play-in stage[edit]

Play-in groups[edit]

  • Date and time: October 5–7, began at 11:00 UTC.
  • Ten teams are drawn into two groups, with five teams in each group.
  • Single round robin, all matches are best-of-one.
  • If teams have same win–loss record at the end of play-in groups, tie-breaker matches are played. A two-way tie is not broken by the results of the head-to-head game those teams played, however the team that won in the head-to-head gets side selection in the tiebreaker game.
  • The top team automatically qualifies for the Main Event, while 2nd to 4th-place of each group advance to the play-in knockouts and 2nd-place receive a bye to match 2. The bottom team is eliminated.

Group A[edit]

Pos Team Pld W L PCT Qualification
1 LNG Esports 4 4 0 1.000 Advance to group stage
2 Hanwha Life Esports 4 3 1 0.750 Advance to play-in knockouts round 1
3 PEACE 4 2 2 0.500 Advance to play-in knockouts round 2
4 RED Canids 4 1 3 0.250
5 Infinity Esports 4 0 4 0.000
Source: LoL Esports
Rules for classification: 1) Winning percentage; 2) Tiebreaker match(es); 3) Total game victory time[a]

Group B[edit]

Pos Team Pld W L PCT Qualification
1 DetonatioN FocusMe 5 4 1 0.800 Advance to group stage
2 Cloud9 5 3 2 0.600 Advance to play-in knockouts round 1
3 Galatasaray Esports 4 2 2 0.500 Advance to play-in knockouts round 2
4 Beyond Gaming 5 2 3 0.400
5 Unicorns of Love 5 1 4 0.200
Source: LoL Esports
Rules for classification: 1) Winning percentage; 2) Tiebreaker match(es); 3) Total game victory time[a]

Play-in knockouts[edit]

  • Date and time: October 8–9
  • King of the hill format with two branch. The 3rd-place teams from the group stage facing 4th-place teams from the same group in match 1. Winner will play against with the 2nd-place team from other group in match 2.
  • Single-elimination. All matches are best-of-five.
  • The upper-place team chooses the side for all odd-numbered games, while the lower-place team chooses the side of even-numbered games.
  • The winners of the match 2 in each branch advances to the main event group stage.
Round 1Round 2
A2Hanwha Life Esports3
B3Galatasaray Esports2B4Beyond Gaming0
B4Beyond Gaming3
B2Cloud93
A3PEACE3A3PEACE0
A4RED Canids2

Source: LoL Esports

Group stage[edit]

  • Date and time: October 11–18, began at 11:00 UTC.
  • Sixteen teams are drawn into four groups with four teams in each group based on their seeding. Teams of the same region cannot be placed in the same group.
  • Double round robin, all matches are best-of-one.
  • If teams have the same win–loss record and head-to-head record, tiebreaker matches are played for first or second place. If more than 2 teams, tiebreaker placement is based on the combined times of teams' victorious games.
  • Top two teams will advance to Knockout Stage. Bottom two teams are eliminated.

Group A[edit]

Pos Team Pld W L PCT Qualification
1 DWG KIA 6 6 0 1.000 Advance to knockouts
2 Cloud9 7 3 4 0.429
3 Rogue 8 3 5 0.375
4 FunPlus Phoenix 7 2 5 0.286
Source: LoL Esports
Rules for classification: 1) Winning percentage; 2) Tiebreaker match(es); 3) Total game victory time[a]

Group B[edit]

Pos Team Pld W L PCT Qualification
1 T1 6 5 1 0.833 Advance to knockouts
2 Edward Gaming 6 4 2 0.667
3 100 Thieves 6 3 3 0.500
4 DetonatioN FocusMe 6 0 6 0.000
Source: LoL Esports
Rules for classification: 1) Winning percentage; 2) Tiebreaker match(es); 3) Total game victory time[a]

Group C[edit]

Pos Team Pld W L PCT Qualification
1 Royal Never Give Up 7 5 2 0.714 Advance to knockouts
2 Hanwha Life Esports 7 4 3 0.571
3 PSG Talon 6 3 3 0.500
4 Fnatic 6 1 5 0.167
Source: LoL Esports
Rules for classification: 1) Winning percentage; 2) Tiebreaker match(es); 3) Total game victory time[a]

Group D[edit]

Pos Team Pld W L PCT Qualification
1 Gen.G 8 5 3 0.625 Advance to knockouts
2 MAD Lions 8 4 4 0.500
3 LNG Esports 7 3 4 0.429
4 Team Liquid 7 3 4 0.429
Source: LoL Esports
Rules for classification: 1) Winning percentage; 2) Tiebreaker match(es); 3) Total game victory time[a]

Knockout stage[edit]

  • Date and time: 22 October–6 November, time for all matches 12:00 UTC.
  • Eight teams are drawn into a single elimination bracket.
  • All matches are best-of-five.
  • The first-place team of each group is drawn against the second-place team of a different group.
  • The first-place team chooses the side for the first games, loser of the previous game chooses the side for the next game.
  • Teams from same group will be on opposite sides of the bracket, meaning they cannot play each other until the Finals.
EDG won the 2021 World Championship
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
C1Royal Never Give Up2
B2Edward Gaming3
Edward Gaming3
Gen.G2
D1Gen.G3
A2Cloud90
Edward Gaming3
DWG KIA2
B1T13
C2Hanwha Life Esports0
T12
DWG KIA3
A1DWG KIA3
D2MAD Lions0

Ranking[edit]

Team ranking[edit]

Place Team PG PK1 PK2 GS QF SF Finals Prize (%) Prize (USD)
1st Edward Gaming – – – 4–2 3–2 3–2 3–2 22% $495,000
2nd DWG KIA – – – 6–0 3–0 3–2 2–3 15% $337,500
3rd–4th T1 – – – 5–1 3–0 2–3 8% $180,000
Gen.G[b] – – – 3–3 3–0 2–3
5th–8th Royal Never Give Up[b] – – – 4–2 2–3 4.5% $101,250
Hanwha Life Esports[b] 3–1 – 3–0 4–2 0–3
MAD Lions[b] – – – 3–3 0–3
Cloud9[b] 3–1 – 3–0 2–4 0–3
9th–11th 100 Thieves – – – 3–3 2.5% $62,500
PSG Talon – – – 3–3
Rogue[b] – – – 2–4
12th–13th LNG Esports[b] 4–0 – – 3–3 2.375% $53,347.50
Team Liquid[b] – – – 3–3
14th–16th FunPlus Phoenix[b] – – – 2–4 2.25% $56,250
Fnatic – – – 1–5
DetonatioN FocusMe[b] 3–1 – – 0–6
17th–18th PEACE 2–2 3–2 0–3 1.75% $43,750
Beyond Gaming[b] 1–3 3–2 0–3
19th–20th Galatasaray Esports 2–2 2–3 1.25% $28,125
RED Canids 1–3 2–3
21st–22nd Unicorns of Love[b] 1–3 1% $22,500
Infinity Esports 0–4
Place Team PG PK1 PK2 GS QF SF Finals Prize (%) Prize (USD)

Regional ranking[edit]

  • The win-ratio is determined by number of won games compared the number of games played.
  • Bracket stage wins are prioritized.
Place Region League Teams Play-in Stage Main Event
Groups
(4 games total) 		K.O Match 1
(Best-of-five) 		K.O Match 2
(Best-of-five)
Group stage
(6 games total) 		Quarterfinals
(Best-of-five) 		Semifinals
(Best-of-five) 		Finals
(Best-of-five)
1st China LPL 3G+1P 1 team
4W-0L
(100%) 		4 teams[b]
13W-11L
(54.17%) 		2 teams
5W-5L
(50%) 		1 team
3W-2L
(60%) 		1 team
3W-2L
(60%)
2nd South Korea LCK 3G+1P 1 team
3W-1L
(75%) 		1 team
3W-0L
(100%) 		4 teams[b]
18W-6L
(75%) 		4 teams
9W-3L
(75%) 		3 teams
7W-8L
(46.66%) 		1 team
2W-3L
(40%)
3rd North America LCS 2G+1P 1 team[b]
3W-1L
(75%) 		1 team
3W-0L
(100%) 		3 teams[b]
8W-10L
(44.44%) 		1 team
0W-3L
(0%)
4th Europe LEC 3G 3 teams[b]
6W-12L
(33.33%) 		1 team
0W-3L
(0%)
5th TW/HK/MO/SEA PCS 1G+1P 1 team[b]
1W-3L
(25%) 		1 team
3W–2L
(60%) 		1 team
0W-3L
(0%) 		1 team
3W-3L
(50%)
6th Japan LJL 1P 1 team[b]
3W-1L
(75%) 		1 team
0W-6L
(0%)
7th Oceania LCO 1P 1 team
2W-2L
(50%) 		1 team
3W–2L
(60%) 		1 team
0W-3L
(0%)
8th Turkey TCL 1P 1 team
2W-2L
(50%) 		1 team
2W-3L
(40%)
9th Brazil CBLOL 1P 1 team
1W-3L
(25%) 		1 team
2W–3L
(40%)
10th CIS LCL 1P 1 team[b]
1W-3L
(25%)
11th Latin America LLA 1P 1 team
0W-4L
(0%)

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f The total amount of time it took a team to win their games against all other teams in the tiebreaker
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Not including tie-break games.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "League of Legends Esports Breaks World Championship Viewership Record". Riot Games. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Worlds 2021 Location and Format Announcement". lolesports. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  3. ^ "Riot premieres Worlds 2021 official song 'Burn It All Down'". Dot Esports. September 28, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  4. ^ "Wang Yibo, Denzel Curry, Besomorph, and CIFIKA remix League Of Legends' 'Burn It All Down' ahead of Worlds Finals 2021". Bandwagon Asia. October 21, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  5. ^ "2020 World Championship final heads to Shanghai". nexus.leagueoflegends.com. November 10, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  6. ^ Esports, LoL (June 16, 2021). "Riot Games Announces Multi-City Lineup for the 2021 League of Legends World Championship in China". lolesports. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  7. ^ Peters, Jay (September 9, 2021). "League of Legends' world championships will take place in Iceland". theverge. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  8. ^ Nguyen, Hoang (September 10, 2021). "Travel restrictions block Vietnam from League of Legends World Championship 2021". theverge. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  9. ^ "Worlds 2021 Location and Format Announcement". lolesports.com. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  10. ^ "Worlds 2021 Primer". lolesports. Retrieved September 16, 2021.

External links[edit]

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