With all of the major regions heading into the second round robin of their summer split, all eyes are on their top teams for the upcoming World Championship. Held each year at the end of the summer split, the League of Legends World Championship is the pinnacle of professional League of Legends. Inviting the best teams from every region, Worlds was created to determine the best team in the world by pitting the top performing teams from the summer split against one another.
This year, the regional seedings and event locations have changed, but the format remains largely the same.
Where is League of Legends Worlds 2022?
This year, the World Championship is returning to North America for the first time since 2016. Originally, the different stages of the event were meant to take place in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, respectively; however, complications with COVID rulings made it so that the Canadian portion of the event had to be relocated to the United States.
The locations for each of the event’s stages are as follows:
Play-In Stage
- Arena Esports Stadium (LLA Studio) (Mexico City, Mexico)
- Periférico Sur 3720, Jardines del Pedregal, Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City
Group Stage/Quarterfinals
- Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden (New York, New York)
- 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, NY 10001, United States
Semi-Finals
- State Farm Arena (Atlanta, Georgia)
- 1 State Farm Dr, Atlanta, GA 30303, United States
Finals
- Chase Center (San Francisco, California)
- 1 Warriors Way, 94158 San Francisco
When is League of Legends Worlds 2022?
Worlds 2022 is set to run from September 29th to November 5th. The specific dates of each stage are as follows:
Play-Ins: September 29th-October 4th
Groups: October 7th-10th and October 13th-16th
Quarterfinals: October 20th-23rd
Semi-Finals: October 29th-30th
Finals: November 5th
Who is Invited to League of Legends Worlds 2022?
Like last year, 24 teams from across the globe are invited to participate in the World Championships. However, unlike last year, the seedings have been adjusted to “[grant]…the region with the best performance during international events over the past two years…[that] does not already have 4 team berths” an additional slot.
The additional slot was, of course, awarded to the LEC (League of Legends European Championship): the only major region without four seeds. Originally, the slot belonged to the LCL (League of Legends Continental League; Russia); however, the LCL opted not to operate at all this year, leaving Riot to grant their seeding to Europe. This is not the first time that Europe has had four seeds. The LEC was most recently awarded four seeds in 2020.
This is the first time, however, that all three major regions (LEC, LCK (League of Legends Korea), and LPL (League of Legends Pro League)) have each had four seeds at Worlds.
The complete list of seedings is as follows:
- 4 from China (LPL)
- 4 from Korea (LCK)
- 4 from Europe (LEC)
- 3 from North America (LCS)
- 2 from PCS (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and Southeast Asia)
- 2 from Vietnam (VCS)
- 1 from Brazil (CBLOL)
- 1 from Japan (LJL)
- 1 from Latin America (LLA)
- 1 from Oceania (LCO)
- 1 from Turkey (TCL)
While each of these regions will have at least one team in attendance, the playoffs have not begun yet. Until they have been concluded, the specific teams from each region attending the event will not be known.
How Will League of Legends Worlds 2022 Be Formatted?
While no official statements regarding the formatting have been made by Riot, the formatting will likely be identical to that of 2021, as the stages are the same. Riot has, however, announced which seedings will have to compete in the play-in stage and which teams will automatically qualify for the group stage.
Play-In Teams
- China (LPL) – 4th Seed
- Korea (LCK) – 4th Seed
- Europe (LEC) – 3rd and 4th Seed
- North America (LCS) – 3rd Seed
- Southeast Asia (PCS) – 2nd Seed
- Vietnam (VCS) – 2nd Seed
- Brazil (CBLOL) – 1st Seed
- Japan (LJL) – 1st Seed
- Latin America (LLA) – 1st Seed
- Oceania (LCO) -1st Seed
- Turkey (TCL) – 1st Seed
Group Stage Teams
- China (LPL) – 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Seeds
- Korea (LCK) – 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Seeds
- Europe (LEC) – 1st and 2nd Seeds
- North America (LCS) – 1st and 2nd Seeds
- Southeast Asia (PCS) – 1st Seed
- Vietnam (VCS) – 1st Seed
Although they are yet to give any details, Riot has stated that ticketing information will be announced in the coming weeks and months.
Check Esports All-Star for the latest LCS mid-split standings and second-half predictions.
