Riot announces Worlds locations for next three years, starting with Europe in 2019

The 2018 League of Legends World Championship in South Korea hasn’t wrapped up yet, but in an attempt to “build and sustain a long-term future,” Riot just announced the locations for Worlds in 2019, 2020, and 2021—three years in advance.

This is an unprecedented announcement from Riot, as venues and locations for Worlds aren’t typically announced this far in advance, not by a long shot. In fact, the venue for this year’s Worlds was unknown until late this summer. And even then, it was only revealed after repeated complaints from professionals in the industry, including YouTube and Twitch personality Travis Gafford.

This announcement, according to Riot, is meant to commit to the long-term for teams, pro players, and fans. Next year, 2019, will return to Europe for the first time in four years. The final venue will be the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France. In 2020, Worlds will be in China again, and in 2021, it’ll come back to North America for the fourth time since 2012. The venues for China and North America haven’t been revealed yet, but they’re far in the future still.

Riot’s goal is to provide fans, players, teams, partners, and the press with more time to plan ahead, and the company believes this is an important step toward unlocking more value for all Worlds participants.