Worlds 2017 is almost here—this is everything you need to know

League of Legends’ World Championships is one of the biggest events on the esports calendar, bringing together teams from around the world to vie for the title of best in the world. This year’s tournament is being held in China from Sept. 23 to Nov. 4. If you’re new to League or just want more info on the tournament, we’ve got you covered. Find everything you need to know in this guide.

What is the World Championships and why should I watch?

The World Championships and Mid-Season Invitational is hosted by Riot Games. The tournaments pit the best teams from every League of Legends competitive region against each other, including: South Korea, North America, Europe, China, Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau, Brazil, Latin America North, Latin America South, Turkey, Oceania, Russia, Japan and Southeast Asia.

If you want to see some of the strongest League teams duke it out for the crown, then this is one of the few chances you’ll get all year. If you have never seen a League of Legends competitive game before— there is no better place to start than here.

Where can I watch the games?

You can watch the games on Riot’s official Twitch account.

What is the prize?

The exact amount of money that will be given to the winner has not yet be confirmed. At Worlds 2016, over five million dollars was won by SK Telecom-T1 with 2 million coming from Riot Games and three million raised from the sale of the Championship Zed, as a form of crowdfunding. Worlds 2017 is expected to continue this familiar model with sales of Championship Ashe contributing to this year’s prize pool.

When will it take place?

The tournament will take place in China from Sept. 23 to Nov. 4.

Where will it take place?

The play-In stage will take place from Sept. 23 to 24 and 28 to 29 in Wuhan’s Sports Center Gymnasium. Groups will then begin in the same place from Oct. 5 to 8 and Oct. 12 to 15.

The top two teams from each group will then head into the quarterfinals in Guangzhou’s Gymnasium from Oct. 19 to 22. The final four teams will then head to Shanghai Oriental Sports Centre from Oct. 28 to 29.

The final two teams will meet in Beijing’s National Stadium on Nov. 4 where the winner of World’s 2017 will be crowned.

What regions and teams will be taking part?

24 teams from 13 different leagues around the world will take part in this year’s World Championships.

The European League of Legends Championship Series (EU LCS), North American League of Legends Championship Series (NA LCS), League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), League of Legends Master Series (LMS), and League of Legends Pro League (LPL) will also have three teams taking part in the event.

The GPL will be the only wildcard region team to have two teams at the event after they placed highest in the Mid-Season Invitational back in April after defeating

The seven wildcard regions will also have a single team at the event, competing in the first round.

These are the teams currently guaranteed to attend the World Championships.

Europe

• G2 Esports
• Misfits
• Fnatic

North America

• TSM
• Immortals
• Cloud9

Korea

• Longzhu Gaming
• SK Telecom T1
• Samsung Galaxy

China

• Royal Never Give Up
• EDward Gaming
• Team WE

Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau

• Flash Wolves
• AHQ e-Sports Club
• Hong Kong Attitude

South-East Asia

• Gigabyte Marines
• Young Generation

Latin America South

• Kaos Latin Gamers

Turkey

• 1907 Fenerbahce

Japan

• Rampage

Mexico

• Lyon Gaming

Russia

• Gambit

Australia

• LG Dire Wolves

Brazil

• Team oNe eSports

What is the tournament format and how does it work?

As with MSI 2017, the World Championships this year will have a play-in format before the Group Stage begins sometime in October. The eight best teams will then fight it out in the Knockout Stage before only one team remains. This team will be crowned the World Champion for the 2017 season.

How does Round One of the Play-In format work?

The play-In Round is the pre-tournament—the rounds that decide the four teams that will join the top teams from the other regions.

The third seeds for the EU LCS, NA LCS, LPL, and LMS will be joined by the GPL’s second seeded team and the teams representing the CBLoL, LJL, OPL, TCL, LCL, CLS, and LLN regions.

On Sept. 12, the 12 teams will be drawn into four different groups of three.

The major regions’ third seeded teams will be placed into pool one, meaning the third seeds of the EU LCS, NA LCS, LMS, and LPL will not face each other in round one. The other eight teams will be placed into pool two.

The teams will then take part in a double round-robin best-of-one format with six matches being played per group, four matches per team.

The winners and runner-ups of each group will advance to round two of the play-in format. The third placed teams will be eliminated from the tournament.

How does Round Two of the play-in format work?

Round two of the play-in format runs from Sept. 28 to 29.

Round two (also referred to as play-in Qualifier Round) consists of eight teams. Those teams are the four winners and four runners-up of round one.

A round one winner will face off against a round one runner-up in a best-of-five series. The winner of each best-of-five matchup will advance to the main event, the Group Stage.

Losers will be eliminated from the competition.

What is the Group Stage?

The Group Stage consists of 16 teams and runs from Oct. 5 to 8, and Oct. 12 to 15.

These teams are the Summer Split winners and runner-ups from the EU LCS, NA LCS, LCK, LMS, and LPL, the third seed from the LCK, the Summer Split winners from Southeast Asia, who qualified directly to the Group Stage by being the highest placed wildcard region at the Mid-Season Invitational earlier in the year, and the four winners from round two of the play-in format.

These 16 teams are split into four groups of four teams with the top two teams advancing to the Knockout Stage.

Once the groups are finalized, teams will face off against one another in their respective groups in a double round-robin format in best-of-one matches, similar to how round one of the play-in format was run.

Teams will play a total of six matches each with the winners and runner-ups of each group advancing to the Knockout Stage.

The third and fourth placed teams in each group are eliminated for the event.

What is the Knockout Stage?

The Knockout Stage is a single elimination bracket stage with the eight teams that qualified from the Group Stage.

After the final day of the Group Stage on Oct. 15, a single draw is done to determine the quarterfinals matchups.

These matches will consist of one first placed team from the group stage against one runner-up. The winners of the quarterfinals will move on to the semifinals, then finals, until only one team remains.

This team will be crowned the world champions.

What is the schedule?

You can check out the full schedule, including dates and times, on our schedule page.