The locations, dates and format for the League of Legends World championship 2019 has finally been confirmed by Riot Games.
Worlds is considered to be the most prestigious event of the year for professional League of Legends players, where the top 24 teams from around the world face off against each other for the Summoner’s Cup.
This year the event will take place across three major European cities which have been confirmed as Berlin, Madrid and Paris, despite many fans believing that the major international tournament may stop in the United Kingdom, after 2015’s World Championship in Europe having included a stop at London’s Wembley Arena.
Play-Ins Stage for Worlds 2019
The tournament will feature 12 wildcard teams competing to qualify for groups in the Play-In Stage which will get underway in Berlin, at the LEC studio, on October 2 to kick off Worlds 2019.
The format for the Play-In stage has been altered from previous years, however, with the 3rd seeded Korean team now also having to fight their way to the Group Stages after years of having an automatic qualification due to the region’s dominance in the past.
The following teams will compete in the Play-In stage, with the top four teams advancing to the Group Stage:
- CBLOL (Brazil) Team
- LCL (Russia) Team
- 3rd Seeded LCK (South Korea) Team
- 3rd Seeded LCS (North America) Team
- 3rd Seeded LEC (Europe) Team
- LJL (Japan) Team
- LLA (Latin America) Team
- 3rd Seeded LMS ( Chinese Taipei ) Team
- OPL (Australia ) Team
- LST (Southeast Asia) Team
- TCL (Turkey) Team
- 2nd Seeded VCS (Vietnam) Team
Groups Stage
The Group stage of the World Championship will also be held in Berlin on October 12, although following the Play-In stages, the venue will be changed from the LEC studio to the Verti Music Hall.
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The Group stages will have 12 teams from each of the major regions automatically qualified with the Chinese region getting the Korean’s former 3rd seed spot for Groups, following Invictus Gaming’s win at Worlds 2018.
The following teams will auto-qualify into the Group Stage:
- 1st Seeded LCK (South Korea) Team
- 2nd Seeded LCK (South Korea) Team
- 1st Seeded LCS (North America) Team
- 2nd Seeded LCS (North America) Team
- 1st Seeded LEC (Europe) Team
- 2nd Seeded LEC (Europe) Team
- 1st Seeded LMS (Chinese Taipei) Team
- 2nd Seeded LMS (Chiniese Taipei) Team
- 1st Seeded LPL (China) Team
- 2nd Seeded LPL (China) Team
- 3rd Seeded LPL (China) Team
- 1st Seeded VCS (Vietnam) Team
Playoffs Stage
The top eight teams from the Group stage will qualify for the Quarterfinals and Semifinals Knock-Out stage which will take place on October 26th at the Palacio Vistalegre in Madrid, Spain.
Much to French fan’s delights, The 2019 World Championship Finals are set to be held in Paris, France at the AccorHotels Arena, with the final game of the tournament getting underway on November 10.
Reigning World champions, Invictus Gaming, will likely have a hard time defending their title after their recent disappointment at MSI 2019 when they fell to Team Liquid in the Semifinals, although they are still expected to be one of the favorite teams leading into Worlds 2019.
Worlds 2019 is shaping up to be one of the most competitive international League of Legends events of all time with the rise of emerging regions and the gap between Korean teams closing after wins from European and Chinese teams at previous major events.
