2024 League of Legends World Championship explained

2024 League of Legends
Sport:League of Legends
Host:Berlin (play-ins, swiss stage)
Paris (quarterfinals, semifinals)
London (Final)
Start Date:25 September
End Date:2 November
Administrator:Riot Games
Venues:3 (in 3 host cities)
Teams:20
Champions:T1
Runner-Up1:Bilibili Gaming
Attendance:14,700 (Finals)[1]
Mvp:Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok (T1)
Previous:2023
Next:2025

The 2024 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the fourteenth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organised by the game's developer, Riot Games. The tournament was held from 25 September to 2 November in Berlin, Paris, and London. It marked the fifth time Europe has hosted the tournament, having held the event in 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2021. Twenty teams qualified for the event based on placement within their regional leagues and results gained in the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI).[2]

The finals took place on 2 November at The O2 Arena in London, where T1 of the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) successfully defended their title after defeating Bilibili Gaming of the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) 3–2 to win the organization's record-extending fifth World Championship.[3] [4]

Qualification

The League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) and League of Legends Pro League (LPL) will have three directly qualified teams to the Swiss stage, while the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) and League Championship Series (LCS) will have two directly qualified teams. The 2024 Mid-Season Invitational champion, Gen.G, earned automatic qualification to the Swiss stage, also counting as the additional seed for the LCK. The LPL, as the runner-up region, also earned an additional spot. Four teams from the play-in stage will also qualify to the Swiss stage.[5]

Eight teams qualified for the play-in stage: The top two teams of the Pacific Championship Series (PCS) 2024 Summer playoffs, the top two teams of the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) 2024 Summer playoffs, the third place teams in the LCS Championship and LEC Season Finals, the Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (CBLOL) 2024 Split 2 champion, and the Liga Latinoamérica (LLA) 2024 Closing Split champion.

This will be the final World Championship where teams from the PCS and VCS qualify for the tournament individually, as they will merge (alongside the League of Legends Japan League (LJL) and League of Legends Circuit Oceania (LCO)) to form a new Asia-Pacific league in 2025 called League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP).[6] Additionally, the LCS, CBLOL and LLA will be merging under the newly formed League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA), which has separated North (LTA North) and South (LTA South) Conferences held in three different splits, with each split held with different formation such as double-elimination tournament and even the "Pick & Play" system that allows teams to select their opponents.[7]

The following tables show qualified teams and their respective qualification paths:[8]

RegionLeagueQualification PathTeamPool
Started from Swiss Stage
South KoreaLCKSummer ChampionHanwha Life Esports1
Championship PointsGen.G2
Regional Finals WinnerDplus KIA3
Regional Finals Runner-UpT13
ChinaLPLSummer ChampionBilibili Gaming1
Championship PointsTop Esports2
Regional Finals WinnerLNG Esports3
Regional Finals Runner-UpWeibo Gaming3
EMEALECSeason Finals ChampionG2 Esports1
Season Finals Runner-UpFnatic2
North AmericaLCSChampionship WinnerFlyQuest1
Championship Runner-UpTeam Liquid2
Started from Play-in Stage
EMEALECSeason Finals 3rd PlaceMAD Lions KOI1
North AmericaLCSChampionship 3rd Place100 Thieves1
Asia-PacificPCSSummer ChampionPSG Talon1
Summer Runner-UpSoftBank Hawks2
VietnamVCSSummer ChampionGAM Esports1
Summer Runner-UpVikings Esports2
BrazilCBLOLSplit 2 ChampionPaiN Gaming2
Latin AmericaLLAClosing ChampionMovistar R72

Pre-tournament rankings

Riot Games unveiled its global power ranking ahead of the 2024 League of Legends World Championship. According to Riot Games, Gen.G ranked first with 1,663 points, and Bilibili Gaming ranked second with 1,602 points. Hanwha Life Esports, Top Esports, and G2 Esports followed. T1, the defending champion, was ranked sixth with 1,467 points.[9]

Venues

Berlin, Paris, and London were chosen to host the competition. The O2 Arena was announced as the finals venue during the 2023 League of Legends World Championship final in Seoul, South Korea.[10] [11] The Riot Games Arena, and the Adidas Arena were announced as the venues for the play-in/Swiss stage and the quarterfinals/semifinals on 5 January 2024, respectively.

Berlin, GermanyParis, FranceLondon, England
Play-in and Swiss StageQuarterfinals and SemifinalsFinal
Riot Games ArenaAdidas ArenaThe O2 Arena
Capacity: 210Capacity: 9,000Capacity: 20,000

Play-in stage

Swiss stage

Bracket

Knockout stage

Qualified teams

Eight teams qualify for the playoff portion of the tournament from the Swiss stage.

Pools Teams
Pool 1
(3–0)
LNG Esports
Gen.G
Pool 2
(3–1)
Top Esports
Hanwha Life Esports
T1
Pool 3
(3–2)
Weibo Gaming
Bilibili Gaming
FlyQuest

Bracket

See also: 2024 League of Legends World Championship final.

Ranking

A base prize pool of US$2,250,000 is offered for the tournament. This pool is to be further increased based on sales of an event pass within the League of Legends store.[12] The prize pool is spread among the teams as seen below:[13]

PlaceTeamPISSQFSFFinalsPrize (%)Prize (USD)
1stT13–13–03–13–220%$450,000
2ndBilibili Gaming3–23–13–02–316%$360,000
3rd–4thGen.G3–03–21–38%$180,000
Weibo Gaming3–23–10–3
5th–8thLNG Esports3–01–34.5%$101,250
Hanwha Life Esports3–11–3
FlyQuest3–22–3
Top Esports3–10–3
9th–11thG2 Esports2–33.5%$78,750
Dplus KIA2–3
Team Liquid2–3
12th–14thFnatic1–33%$67,500
GAM Esports2–01–3
PSG Talon2–11–3
15th–16thMAD Lions KOI2–00–32.5%$56,250
PaiN Gaming2–10–3
17th–18th100 Thieves1–21.75%$39,375
Movistar R71–2
19th–20thSoftBank Hawks0–21%$22,500
Viking Esports0–2
PlaceTeamPISSQFSFFinalsPrize (%)Prize (USD)

Marketing

Official song

"Heavy Is the Crown", performed by Linkin Park, was announced as the tournament's theme song on 24 September 2024.[14] A day later, Riot Games and Linkin Park released the song's music video, featuring the most recent champions T1 of the LCK, consisting of reigning Finals MVP Choi "Zeus" Woo-je, Mun "Oner" Hyeon-jun, Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok, Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong, and Ryu "Keria" Min-seok. The video also featured players from the winners of major professional regions during the Spring and Summer Splits, such as Gen.G's Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon of the LCK, Bilibili Gaming's Chen "Bin" Zebin of the LPL, G2 Esports's Rasmus "Caps" Winther of the LEC, and FlyQuest's Fahad "Massu" Abdulmalek of the LCS. Diego "Brance" Amaral of the CBLOL's Red Canids was also included, despite the team not qualifying for the tournament.[15]

Despite being on tour for their at-the-time upcoming album From Zero,[16] Linkin Park performed the song as part of the opening ceremony for the final between Bilibili Gaming and T1.[17] They previously performed at the O2 Arena for their album tour, during which they performed the same track.[18]

Slogan

The tournament's official slogan, Make Them Believe, was unveiled on 31 August 2024 alongside a format explainer video on YouTube.

Notes and References

  1. News: Sacco . Dom . T1 win Worlds 2024 final as fans fill London's O2 Arena . November 3, 2024 . esports-news.co.uk . November 2, 2024.
  2. Web site: The State of the Game: LoL Esports in 2024 . 5 January 2024 . lolesports.com.
  3. Web site: Mike Stubbs . 2024-11-03 . T1 Wins The 'League Of Legends' World Championship… Again. https://archive.today/20241102201503/https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikestubbs/2024/11/02/t1-wins-the-league-of-legends-world-championship-again/ . 2 November 2024 . Forbes.
  4. Web site: Rijit Banerjee . 2024-11-03 . Faker goes above and beyond as T1 defend LoL Worlds title. 2024-11-03 . Dot Esports.
  5. News: Daniels . Tom . 5 January 2024 . Riot Games announces MSI and Worlds 2024 locations, Hall of Fame and format changes . 23 January 2024 . Esports Insider.
  6. Web site: 30 September 2024. INTRODUCING LEAGUE OF LEGENDS CHAMPIONSHIP PACIFIC!. LOL Esports. 30 September 2024.
  7. Web site: 31 October 2024. Introducing League of Legends Championship of The Americas. LOL Esports. 2 November 2024.
  8. Web site: LoL Esports Schedule . 2024-07-27 . lolesports.com.
  9. Web site: LoL Esports Global Power Rankings . 2024-09-23 . lolesports.com.
  10. Web site: 19 November 2023 . 2024 World Final Set for The O2 in London . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231119084731/https://lolesports.com/article/2024-world-final-set-for-the-o2-in-london/blt2a2304e7afac378b . 19 November 2023 . 19 November 2023 . LoL Esports.
  11. Web site: Tom Richardson . 19 November 2023 . League of Legends Worlds 2024 final to be held at London's O2 Arena . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231119155710/https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-67447754 . 19 November 2023 . 20 November 2023 . BBC.
  12. Web site: League of Legends - Worlds 2024 - League of Legends Support . 4 November 2024 . 16 September 2024.
  13. Web site: Esguerra . Tyler . LoL Worlds 2024 prize pool – Full amount, breakdown, and more . Dot Esports . 4 November 2024 . 17 September 2024.
  14. Web site: Riot Games taps Linkin Park for 2024 League of Legends World Championship anthem. Takahashi. Dean. Venture Beat. 22 September 2024. 22 September 2024.
  15. Web site: Is Heavy Is The Crown a hit or a miss? Fans debate over Linkin Park’s Worlds 2024 song. Tuting. Kristine. ONE Esports. 25 September 2024. 28 September 2024.
  16. Web site: Linkin Park unleash new single Heavy Is The Crown, announce more 2024 shows. Kerrang!. Carter. Emily. September 27, 2024. September 27, 2024.
  17. Web site: 29 October 2024. Worlds 2024 Opening Ceremony Presented by Mastercard. LOL Esports. 2 November 2024.
  18. Web site: League of Legends Worlds 2024 anthem video is a banger with an identity crisis. Down. Arron. PCGamesN. 29 September 2024. 30 September 2024.
  19. Web site: Leveling Up Esports: Riot Games' Partners with OMEN and HyperX. Brittain. Anna-Marie. HP Inc.. 26 June 2024. 29 September 2024.
  20. Web site: Riot Games Teams Up With AWS To Reimagine Esports Experiences Through Esports Broadcast Stats, Power Rankings, And More. 18 July 2022. Sports Video Group.
  21. Web site: Verizon, Riot Games Expand Partnership With League Of Legends, Valorant Ahead Of Midseason Iceland Events. Sprung. Shlomo. Forbes. 1 March 2021. 29 September 2024.
  22. Web site: Mastercard and Riot Games extend global League of Legends partnership. Frascarelli. Victor. Esports Insider. 13 October 2022. 29 September 2024.
  23. Web site: Mastercard extends Riot Games deal into Valorant esports. Hitt. Kevin. Sports Business Journal. 20 June 2023. 29 September 2024.
  24. Web site: Opera GX and Riot Games strike a partnership to deliver exclusive drops and first ever Co-Streamer Hub to League of Legends Esports global events. 9 September 2024. Opera.
  25. Web site: Mercedes-Benz and Riot Games extend esports partnership to 2025. Nordland. Jake. Esports Insider. 12 September 2022. 29 September 2024.
  26. Web site: OPPO named global smartphone partner of League of Legends esports. Becht. Eli. Dexerto. 30 September 2019. 29 September 2024.
  27. Web site: Riot Games and Cisco expand League of Legends esports partnership. Xu. Davide. Esports Insider. 16 May 2024. 29 September 2024.