The League of Legends World Championship was set to take
place in China for the second year in a row. From the first stage of the event
in Shanghai until the finals in Shenzhen, a multi-city tour with five different
locales had been planned.
However, Riot had to make the difficult decision to move
Worlds 2021 from China to Europe in order to accommodate as many teams as
possible during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
On August 24th, Riot's head of eSports, John Needham, remarked that they figured 2020 would be the hardest Worlds they ever had to produce. He further added that they expected a return to some type of normalcy in 2021, with vaccines being distributed globally this year. Unfortunately, this hasn't proven to be the case. Travel limitations and COVID rules were considerably more difficult to handle in 2021 with the Delta variation than they were in 2020. After weighing all of the options, Riot determined that shifting the World Championships to Europe provided the best opportunity for the most teams and their finest players to compete.
The top teams from 12 regions will play for the Summoner's
Cup at Worlds 2021, regardless of where it takes place.
The event will include 24 teams, including four from China
and Korea, three from Europe and North America, two from Taiwan and Vietnam,
and one from each of the CIS, Latin America, Turkey, Brazil, Japan, and
Oceania.
All of the teams competing in Worlds 2021 are listed here:
China – LPL
FunPlus Phoenix, EDG and other two teams are yet to be
determined.
Since winning it all in 2019, FunPlus Phoenix has won their
first Worlds berth. They swept WE in the semifinals, securing a position in the
domestic finals and, at the very least, the most championship points of any
team with 180.
Following a dominant win against Team WE in the LPL Summer
Split semifinals, EDG qualified for Worlds 2021. The team goes to the group
stage of the end-of-year event with 160 championship points, second only to FPX
in the standings.
Korea – LCK
DWG KIA, Gen.G, T1, and Hanwha Life.
DWG KIA qualified for the 2021 World Championships based on
championship points earned throughout the season. After accumulating 150
championship points, Gen.G qualified for Worlds 2021.
Despite difficulties throughout the season, T1 qualified for
Worlds 2021. The team received 100 championship points in the Summer Split
playoffs after defeating SANDBOX in the quarterfinals and Gen.G in the semis,
in addition to the 30 points earned in the spring.
Hanwha Life earned the fourth and last spot at Worlds 2021
after a dominant 3-0 win against NS RedForce in the LCK regional finals.
Europe – LEC
MAD Lions, Fnatic, and Rogue.
MAD Lions defeated G2 Esports 3-1 in a rematch of the LEC
Spring Split playoffs, securing a berth at Worlds 2021.
Long-time rivals G2 Esports were defeated by Fnatic to gain
a ticket at Worlds 2021.
Rogue needed only a hard-fought win versus
Misfits to qualify for Worlds 2021 after finishing first in the LEC
summer regular season with a 13-5 record.
North America - LCS
100 Thieves, Team Liquid, and Cloud9.
After defeating Evil Geniuses in the LCS Summer Split
playoffs, 100 Thieves qualified for Worlds for the first time since 2018.
After a convincing 3-1 win against TSM in the LCS Summer
playoffs, Team Liquid qualified for Worlds 2021.
After a tight 3-2 win against TSM in the loser's bracket of
the Summer Split playoffs, Cloud9 regained their form and qualified for Worlds
2021.
SEA – PCS
PSG Talon and Beyond Gaming.
PSG earned a berth at Worlds 2021 after a nail-biting 3-2
triumph over Beyond Gaming in the PCS grand-final.
After overcoming a 2-1 deficit in the semifinals, Beyond
Gaming defeated reigning champions PSG Talon in five games to earn a spot in
Worlds 2021.
Latin America – LLA
Infinity Esports.
Infinity Esports qualified for Worlds 2021 after a 3-2
victory over Estral Esports in the LLA 2021 summer final.
Oceania – LCO
Peace.
Peace won the LCO Split Two finals in Australia, sweeping
MSI representatives Pentanet.GG and securing a ticket at Worlds 2021.
Teams from the following regions are yet to be determined:
Vietnam – VCS: Two teams
CIS – LCL: One
team
Turkey – TCL: One
team
Brazil – CBLOL:
One team
