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The League of Legends World Championship has crowned the top players of this hugely popular video game since 2011.
It’s an annual event, usually happening in the fall, where teams from leagues all over the globe battle it out for some major prizes.
This includes a 44-pound Summoner’s Cup and a multi-million-dollar prize pool—which topped over $5 million back in 2015.
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League of Legends World Championship Schedule
Various major cities around the world have hosted the tournament since it began thirteen years ago.
The LoL World Championship 2024 will be held across three European ones—Berlin, Paris, and London—from September 25 to November 2.
LoL World Championship 2024 Venues
Three European capitals will host this year’s edition of the LoL World Championship.
| Date | Stage | Venue | City | Capacity |
| September 25 – October 13 | Play-in Stage and Group Swiss Stage | Riot Games Arena | Berlin, Germany | 210 |
| October 17 – October 27 | Knockout Stage | Adidas Arena | Paris, France | 9,000 |
| November 2 | Grand Final | The O2 Arena | London, England | 20,000 |
League of Legends World Championship Format
The 2024 LoL World Championship will see the best 20 teams worldwide compete for the Summoner’s Cup in a 38-day showdown.
It starts with the Play-Ins and Swiss Stages, from which the top eight will advance to the knockout stage.
It gives fans plenty of opportunity to wager on their favorite players and teams at the top esports betting sites.
LoL World Championship 2024: Play-In Stage
The action kicks off in a best-of-three format, with eight teams randomly slotted into a double-elimination bracket. They’re arranged so that no two squads from the same region end up on the same half.
Each team gets two chances before they’re out—if they lose once, they can still fight their way back through the losers’ bracket.
LoL World Championship 2024: Swiss Stage
The Swiss stage is set to unfold over two sets of dates: first from October 3rd to 7th, then from the 10th to 13th.
- Here, sixteen teams compete in a total of five rounds. Those that reach three wins move on to the Knockout Stage.
- The Swiss stage includes four teams who’ve battled their way up from the Play-In stage.
- 12 others have direct entries from powerhouses like China, South Korea, Europe, and North America.
First Round
The first round of the Swiss phase mixes up the pot right away. Teams get matched with opponents from entirely different regions, offering everyone a chance to see new strategies and how various playing styles clash right from the start.
Second Round
From the second round onwards, it’s all about the win-loss records. Those that won go against other winners, and the ones that didn’t do so well face each other.
The objective here is to let teams prove themselves against others who are right there with them, either clawing their way up or defending the top spots. It aims to avoid the pitfalls of the dreaded “group of death” scenarios seen in other competitions.
As for game formats, elimination and advancement matches are played as best-of-threes, while all others take on a best-of-one approach.
How Do Teams Qualify for the League of Legends World Championship 2024?
There are quite a few paths teams can take to get into the contest.
- The top leagues, like Korea’s LCK and China’s LPL, each secure three spots directly into the Swiss stage.
- Meanwhile, Europe’s LEC and North America’s LCS earn two spots.
- All these entries are based on how well the teams perform in their regional competitions.
Now, there’s a unique scenario with Gen.G, the champions of the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational.
They’ve secured an automatic entry into the Swiss stage, which also grants an extra berth to their league, the LCK. Additionally, since the LPL finished second at the event, they earned another spot as well.
| Team | Qualification Source | Base |
| Gen.G Esports | MSI Champion | South Korea |
| Bilibili Gaming | LPL Summer Champion | China |
| Top Esports | LPL Championship Points | China |
| LNG Esports | LPL Regional Finals Winner | China |
| Weibo Gaming | LPL Regional Finals Runner-Up | China |
| Hanwha Life Esports | LCK Summer Champion | South Korea |
| Dplus | LCK Regional Finals Winner | South Korea |
| T1 | LCK Regional Finals Runner-Up | South Korea |
| G2 Esports | LEC Finals Champion | Germany |
| Fnatic | LEC Finals Runner-Up | UK |
| FlyQuest | LCS Summer Champion | US |
| Team Liquid | LCS Summer Runner-Up | US |
For the play-in stage that happens before the Swiss stage, slots are taken up by teams from various smaller leagues.
This includes the top two from both the Pacific Championship Series and the Vietnam Championship Series summer playoffs.
Then you’ve got the third-place teams from the LCS and LEC finals, along with the champions from Brazil’s CBLOL and Latin America’s LLA.
| Team | Qualification Source | Based |
| MAD Lions KOI | LEC Finals 3rd Place | Spain |
| 100 Thieves | LCS Summer 3rd Place | US |
| PSG Talon | PCS Summer Champion | Taiwan |
| GAM Esports | VCS Summer Champion | Vietnam |
| Fukuoka HAWKS gaming | PCS Summer Runner-up | Japan |
| Vikings Esports | VCS Summer Runner-up | Vietnam |
| Rainbow7 | LLA Closing Champion | Mexico |
| paiN Gaming | CBLOL Split 2 Champion | Brazil |
League of Legends World Championship Prize Pool
For the fourteenth edition of the tournament, Riot has set a guaranteed League of Legends World Championship prize pool of $2,225,000. This will be divided among the 20 participating teams as follows:
- 1st (20%): $445,000
- 2nd (16%): $356,000
- 3rd-4th (8%): $178,000
- 5th-8th (4.5%): $100,125
- 9th-11th (3.5%): $77,875
- 12th-14th (3%): $66,750
- 15th-16th (2.5%): $55,625
- 17th-18th (1.75%): $38,937
- 19th-20th (1%): $22,250
How to Watch League of Legends World Championship
If you’re not heading to Europe, there are still plenty of ways to watch the League of Legends World Championship unfold.
Riot Games streams all the matches on their official Twitch channel and on YouTube as well.
And in case you miss any of the action, the LoL Esports website posts loads of additional content like match replays, analysis, and interviews with the players.
LoL World Championship Winners
Over the years, many incredible teams have clinched the League of Legends World Championship winners title, along with some hefty prize pools. Here’s a quick look since the tournament’s beginnings in 2011:
| Year | Champion | Prize | Runner-up | Prize |
| 2011 | Fnatic | $50,000 | against All authority | $25,000 |
| 2012 | Taipei Assassins | $1,000,000 | Azubu Frost | $250,000 |
| 2013 | SK Telecom T1 | $1,000,000 | Royal Club | $250,000 |
| 2014 | Samsung White | $1,000,000 | Star Horn Royal Club | $250,000 |
| 2015 | SK Telecom T1 | $1,000,000 | KOO Tigers | $250,000 |
| 2016 | SK Telecom T1 | $2,028,000 | Samsung Galaxy | $760,500 |
| 2017 | Samsung Galaxy | $1,723,721 | SK Telecom T1 | $620,539 |
| 2018 | Invictus Gaming | $2,418,750 | Fnatic | $870,750 |
| 2019 | FunPlus Phoenix | $834,375 | G2 Esports | $300,375 |
| 2020 | Damwon Gaming | $556,250 | Suning | $389,375 |
| 2021 | Edward Gaming | $489,500 | DWG KIA | $333,750 |
| 2022 | DRX | $489,500 | T1 | $333,750 |
| 2023 | T1 | $445,000 | Weibo Gaming | $333,750 |
Best Players at the World Championship
The 2024 League of Legends World Championship is gearing up to be a showdown between some of the game’s biggest and highest paid esports players.
Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok
A standout is definitely the Korean Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok. He’s a mid-laner for T1 and stands as the most decorated player in the scene, with four LoL Worlds titles under his belt (2013, 2015, 2016, 2023).
His mechanics, sharp game sense, and ability to pull off clutch plays earned him the ‘GOAT of LoL’ title among fans all over.
Lee ‘Tarzan’ Seung-yong
Lee Seung Yong from Weibo Gaming is another talented player we’re keeping an eye on. True, not quite at the legendary level of Faker yet, but he’s definitely made his mark in the pro scene.
He is considered one of Korea’s top jugglers, especially notable since he hit rank 1 in the Korean solo queue in Season 8.
After a tough loss with Griffin against Gen.G in the 2018 Korea Regional Finals, he changed his in-game name to ‘만족하지않을거야,’ which means ‘I will not be satisfied.’ Now that’s real relentlessness!
Eain ‘APA’ Stearns
If you’re into North American teams, keep an eye on Eain ‘APA’ Stearns, a rising star for Team Liquid.
He’s raked in three individual awards in 2024: LCS Finals MVP for the Spring, made the LCS First All-Pro Team in the Summer, and was named LCS Most Improved Player the same year—where he also claimed an LCS championship.
What really stands out is his flexibility and team-first mindset, a surely impressive trait for someone just 22. The 2024 League of Legends World Championship is a huge chance for him to further his career.
LoL World Championship 2024 Odds
For those looking to wager on the tournament, you” be spoilt for choice at the best League of Legends betting sites.
Major esports betting platforms will integrate live streaming right within the betting interface, making it really convenient to browse the markets and odds while catching every gank and team fight live.
As the Play-Ins for the 2024 League of Legends World Championship draw closer, betting sites like Bovada are already highlighting some exciting matchups.
Spanish giants MAD Lions are big favorites at -1200 against Vikings Gaming. But the latter could very well surprise; many tipsters aren’t fully convinced that the Europeans’ slight experience advantage justifies such steep odds for this match.
Considering the +1.5 spread on Vikings at +165, that could be a bet worth looking into.
Another promising game is between PSG Talon, standing at -900, and paiN Gaming, which holds a promising record in regional tournaments and is priced at +500 to secure a win.
Looking at the outrights, Gen.G and Bilibili Gaming are the clear front-runners, with odds sitting snug at +275.
Not far behind, Top Esports and T1 are poised as serious contenders. Many fans will be watching closely if the latter can take home what would be the fifth LoL Worlds title.
On the longer end, teams like Team Liquid (+4000), PSG Talon (+8000), and MAD Lions (+10000) are seen as long shots, but in a game where strategy and skill can turn on a dime, they might still be worth placing a small bet on.
References
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