Worlds 2021, League of Legends’ biggest international tournament of the year, is finally here.
After two regular seasons of local and regional competition, 22 of the best teams will battle it out in Reykjavik, Iceland, the same city where the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational was held.
Reigning champions DAMWON KIA from the LCK are back, this time led by legendary head coach Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun who previously won three World Championships with SK Telecom T1. Can they defend their title, or will another team rise up?
What is League of Legends Worlds 2021?
The annual League of Legends World Championship organized by developers Riot Games is the largest global tournament in LoL esports.
This year, top teams from 11 regions will compete for the title of World Champion, prize money, and of course, the chance to lift the Summoner’s Cup — one of the most iconic trophies in esports.
Hundreds of League of Legends pro teams have been competing across the globe in two regular season splits throughout the year to earn points, or qualify through the Summer Split playoffs and regionals.
- This is why I cried after listening to the Worlds 2020 orchestral theme song
- AR glasses will let you watch Worlds 2020 as if you were really there
Worlds 2021 schedule, results, scores, standings
Worlds 2021 will take place from October 5 to November 6, 2021.
The Play-Ins Stage will run from October 5 to 9, while Group Stage will run from October 11 to 13, and 15 to 18. All dates and times are in GMT, GMT+8, and PST.
The Knockout Stage is scheduled as follows:
- Quarterfinals: October 22 to 25
- Semifinals: October 30 to 31
- Grand final: November 6
Knockout Stage
Grand final results
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| DWG KIA | 2 — 3 | Edward Gaming |
Semifinals results
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| DWG KIA | 3 — 2 | T1 |
| Edward Gaming | 3 — 2 | Gen.G |
Quarterfinals results
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| Hanwha Life Esports | 0 — 3 | T1 |
| Edward Gaming | 3 — 2 | Royal Never Give Up |
| DWG KIA | 3 — 0 | MAD Lions |
| Gen.G | 3 — 0 | Cloud9 |
Group Stage
| GROUP A | GROUP B | GROUP C | GROUP D |
| DWG KIA | Edward Gaming | PSG Talon | MAD Lions |
| FunPlus Phoenix | 100 Thieves | Fnatic | Gen.G |
| Rogue | T1 | Royal Never Give Up | Team Liquid |
| Cloud9 | DetonatioN FocusMe | Hanwha Life Esports | LNG Esports |
Group Stage standings
| GROUP A | GROUP B |
| DWG KIA (6-0) | T1 (5-1) |
| Cloud9 (3-4) | Edward Gaming (4-2) |
| GROUP C | GROUP D |
| Royal Never Give Up (5-2) | Gen.G (5-3) |
| Hanwha Life Esports (4-3) | MAD Lions (4-4) |
Group Stage results
Day 1
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| DWG KIA | 1 — 0 | FunPlus Phoenix |
| Royal Never Give Up | 1 — 0 | PSG Talon |
| Hanwha Life Esports | 1 — 0 | Fnatic |
| LNG Esports | 0 — 1 | Gen.G |
| DetonatioN FocusMe | 0 — 1 | T1 |
| Edward Gaming | 1 — 0 | 100 Thieves |
| Team Liquid | 1 — 0 | MAD Lions |
| Cloud9 | 0 — 1 | Rogue |
Day 2
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| T1 | 0 — 1 | Edward Gaming |
| Rogue | 0 — 1 | DWG KIA |
| PSG Talon | 1 — 0 | Hanwha Life Esports |
| Fnatic | 0 — 1 | Royal Never Give Up |
| Cloud9 | 0 — 1 | FunPlus Phoenix |
| DetonatioN FocusMe | 0 — 1 | 100 Thieves |
| MAD Lions | 1 — 0 | Gen.G |
| Team Liquid | 0 — 1 | LNG Esports |
Day 3
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| Hanwha Life Esports | 0 — 1 | Royal Never Give Up |
| LNG Esports | 1 — 0 | MAD Lions |
| FunPlus Phoenix | 1 — 0 | Rogue |
| PSG Talon | 1 — 0 | Fnatic |
| Gen.G | 1 — 0 | Team Liquid |
| Cloud9 | 0 — 1 | DWG KIA |
| DetonatioN FocusMe | 0 — 1 | Edward Gaming |
| 100 Thieves | 0 — 1 | T1 |
Day 4, Group A
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| FunPlus Phoenix | 0 — 1 | DWG KIA |
| Cloud9 | 1 — 0 | Rogue |
| Cloud9 | 1 — 0 | FunPlus Phoenix |
| DWG KIA | 1 — 0 | Rogue |
| Rogue | 1 — 0 | FunPlus Phoenix |
| Cloud9 | 0 — 1 | DWG KIA |
| [Tiebreaker 1] FunPlus Phoenix | 0 — 1 | Rogue |
| [Tiebreaker 2] Rogue | 0 — 1 | Cloud9 |
Day 5, Group B
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| DetonatioN FocusMe | 0 — 1 | Edward Gaming |
| T1 | 1 — 0 | 100 Thieves |
| Edward Gaming | 0 — 1 | T1 |
| DetonatioN FocusMe | 0 — 1 | 100 Thieves |
| DetonatioN FocusMe | 0 — 1 | T1 |
| 100 Thieves | 1 — 0 | Edward Gaming |
Day 6, Group C
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| Hanwha Life Esports | 1 — 0 | PSG Talon |
| Royal Never Give Up | 0 — 1 | Fnatic |
| PSG Talon | 0 — 1 | Royal Never Give Up |
| Hanwha Life Esports | 1 — 0 | Fnatic |
| Hanwha Life Esports | 1 — 0 | Royal Never Give Up |
| Fnatic | 0 — 1 | PSG Talon |
| [Tiebreaker] Hanwha Life Esports | 0 — 1 | Royal Never Give Up |
Day 7, Group D
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| Gen.G | 1 — 0 | MAD Lions |
| LNG Esports | 0 — 1 | Team Liquid |
| LNG Esports | 1 — 0 | Gen.G |
| MAD Lions | 1 — 0 | Team Liquid |
| Team Liquid | 1 — 0 | Gen.G |
| LNG Esports | 0 — 1 | MAD Lions |
| [Tiebreaker 1] Team Liquid | 0 — 1 | Gen.G |
| [Tiebreaker 2] LNG Esports | 0 — 1 | MAD Lions |
| [Tiebreaker 3] Gen.G | 1 — 0 | MAD Lions |
Play-In Stage Standings
| GROUP A STANDINGS | GROUP B STANDINGS |
| [Qualified] LNG Esports (4-0) | [Qualified] Detonation FocusMe (4-1) |
| Hanwha Life Esports (3-1) | Cloud9 (3-2) |
| PEACE (2-2) | Galatasaray Esports (2-2) |
| RED Kalunga (1-3) | Beyond Gaming (2-3) |
| [Eliminated] Infinity Esports (0-3) | [Eliminated] Unicorns of Love (1-4) |
Play-In Stage schedule, scores, and results
October 5 (Tuesday)
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| Hanwha Life Esports | 0 — 1 | LNG Esports |
| Infinity Esports | 0 — 1 | RED Kalunga |
| LNG Esports | 1 — 0 | PEACE |
| Hanwha Life Esports | 1 — 0 | Infinity Esports |
| Unicorns of Love | 0 — 1 | DetonatioN FocusMe |
October 6 (Wednesday)
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| Galatasaray Esports | 1 — 0 | Beyond Gaming |
| Detonation FocusMe | 0 — 1 | Cloud9 |
| Unicorns of Love | 0 — 1 | Galatasaray Esports |
| PEACE | 0 — 1 | Hanwha Life Esports |
| RED Kalunga | 0 — 1 | LNG Esports |
| Infinity Esports | 0 — 1 | PEACE |
| RED Kalunga | 0 — 1 | Hanwha Life Esports |
| Beyond Gaming | 0 — 1 | Cloud9 |
October 7 (Thursday)
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| Galatasaray Esports | 0 — 1 | DetonatioN FocusMe |
| Beyond Gaming | 1 — 0 | Unicorns of Love |
| Cloud9 | 1 — 0 | Galatasaray Esports |
| LNG Esports | 1 — 0 | Infinity Esports |
| PEACE | 1 — 0 | RED Kalunga |
| DetonatioN FocusMe | 1 — 0 | Beyond Gaming |
| Cloud9 | 0 — 1 | Unicorns of Love |
| [Tiebreaker] Beyond Gaming | 0 — 1 | Unicorns of Love |
| [Tiebreaker] Cloud9 | 0 — 1 | DetonatioN FocusMe |
Play-In Knockout Stage
8 October (Friday)
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| Beyond Gaming | 3 — 2 | Galatasaray Esports |
9 October (Saturday)
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| RED Kalunga | 2 — 3 | PEACE |
| Beyond Gaming | 0 — 3 | Hanwha Life Esports |
10 October (Sunday)
| TEAM | SCORE | TEAM |
| PEACE | 0 — 3 | Cloud9 |
Hanwha Life Esports and Cloud9 have qualified for the Group Stage.
Format of Worlds 2021
There are three stages to the competition: Play-In Stage, Group Stage, and the Knockout Stage.
Play-In Stage
In the Play-In Stage, 10 teams will be drawn into two groups. The first seed of CBLOL, LJL, LCO, LCO, LLA, and TCL, the second seed of PCS, the third seed of LCS, and the fourth seed of LCK and LPL regions are among the 10.
The top team of each group immediately qualifies for the Group Stage.
The third and fourth-placed teams in each group will battle it out in a best-of-five series. The winner then challenges the second-placed team of each group in another best-of-five to fight for the remaining two spots in Groups.
| GROUP A | GROUP B |
| Hanwha Life Esports | Beyond Gaming |
| LNG Esports | Cloud9 |
| Infinity | Unicorns of Love |
| PEACE | Galatasaray Esports |
| RED Kalunga | DetonatioN FocusMe |
Group Stage
A total of 16 teams, including the four that qualified from the Play-In Stage, will be drawn into four groups of four (A, B, C, and D).
Among these Group Stage teams are the first and second seed of LCK, LPL, LEC, and LCS regions, and the first seed of PCS.
The Group Stage will be held in a double round-robin format, where each team plays against other teams twice. The top two teams of each group will qualify for the Knockout Stage.
Knockout Stage
The Knockout Stage comprises the playoffs’ quarterfinals and semifinals matches, and the grand final. The top 8 teams will compete in best-of-fives matches in a single-elimination format.
Teams competing at Worlds 2021
22 teams from 11 regions have qualified for the League of Legends tournament. Two teams, GAM Esports and Saigon Buffalo from the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) were not able to compete due to pandemic restrictions.
| REGION | TEAM |
| LCK (Korea) | DWG KIA Gen.G T1 Hanwha Life Esports |
| LCS (North America) | 100 Thieves Team Liquid Cloud9 |
| LEC (Europe) | Rogue MAD Lions Fnatic |
| LPL (China) | FunPlus Phoenix Edward Gaming Royal Never Give Up LNG Esports |
| PCS (Pacific Asia) | Beyond Gaming PSG Talon |
| LJL (Japan) | Detonation FocusMe |
| TCL (Turkey) | Galatasaray Esports |
| LCL (CIS) | Unicorns of Love |
| LLA (Latin America) | Infinity Esports |
| LCO (Oceania) | PEACE |
| CBLOL (Brazil) | RED Kalunga |
Where will Worlds 2021 be held?
League of Legends Worlds 2021 will be held at the Laugardalshöll indoor sporting arena, Hall A, in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Worlds 2021 prize pool
The 2019, and 2020 League of Legends World Championship and this year’s Worlds 2021 will offer the same prize pool of $2,225,000, split among 22 teams and the two VCS teams, GAM Esports and Saigon Buffalo, who are unable to compete.
The prize pool breakdown is as follows:
(Updated September 27)
- World Champion: 22%
- 2nd place: 15%
- 3rd to 4th: 8%
- 5th to 8th: 4.5%
- 9th to `12th: 2.5%
- 13th to 16th: 2.25%
- 17th to 18th: 1.75%
- 19th to 20th: 1.25%
- 21st to 22nd: 1%
- VCS teams: TBD
Where to watch Worlds 2021?
League of Legends esports fans can watch the 2021 World Championship matches live on Riot Games’ official channels on Twitch and YouTube.
READ MORE: Worlds 2021 group draw results
