The ultimate guide to Worlds 2022

For die-hard League of Legends fans, the end of September and the beginning of October usually mark the beginning of the World Championship, the largest international League event that welcomes elite teams from across the globe. So, with the return of Worlds this year, fans will get to see League veterans like Nuguri and Faker shine on Summoner’s Rift once again, while Worlds first-timers like Muhammed Hasan “Kaori” Şentürk and Chen “Breathe” Chen will try to showcase the skills they had been building during the Spring and Summer Splits. 

Ahead of Worlds 2022, Riot Games released a lot of promotional material, including the annual Worlds anthem, merchandise, emotes, and seasonal skins that only come back during international events. On top of that, Riot released the official list of competing teams, the format of the tournament, the schedule, and a specifically designed set of rules.

Since Worlds 2022 is packed with intricate details, we’ve assembled the most important information in one place to help you keep track of the most relevant World-related details. This includes the tournament’s official schedule, format, participating teams, and awards. 

Format and schedule

This year’s Worlds consists of three separate stages: the play-in stage, the group stage, and the knockout stage (quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals). The play-in stage took place from Sept. 29 to Oct. 4. The group stage will take place from Oct. 7 to 17, while the knockout stage will be happening from Oct. 20 to Nov. 5. 

The play-in stage featured 12 teams divided into two groups to play a single round of round robin. 

The group stage will once again feature 16 teams split into four separate groups. The matches during the group stage are played in a double round-robin, meaning that each team plays every other team in their group twice. 

Lastly, the knockout stage will welcome the eight best teams to make their final efforts to get the Summoner’s Cup. At this point, the tournament transitions to a single-elimination bracket, where all matches follow the best-of-five format. The team that has the edge over their opponents and progresses all the way through the bracket will be crowned the 2022 world champion. 

Tiebreakers

Tiebreakers are special rules that typically apply whenever the judges encounter a tie scenario. The judges normally use tiebreakers to settle the score between two equally strong teams to decide which team will advance to the next phase of the tournament. Unlike the 2022 Worlds format, tiebreakers are not so straightforward. So, we advise you to take a look at a full breakdown of how exactly tiebreakers work here. 

Participating regions and teams

Venues

Worlds 2022 is, for the first time in years, happening in NA. The play-in stage took place at the Arena Esports Stadium at Artz Pedregal in Mexico City, Mexico. Both the group stage and quarterfinals are set to be held at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The semifinals venue is the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Worlds 2022 finals will be at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.

Anthem

The 2022 Worlds anthem is easily one of the most important aspects of the event, not only because it hypes up the community but also because it promotes the tournament beyond the inner circles of League. The anthem for Worlds 2022 is “STAR WALKIN’” by Lil Nas X. 

Merchandise

As is tradition, Riot released Worlds merchandise for all those die-hard fans who will join the teams and casters at esports stadiums or simply enjoy watching Worlds fully geared. If you’re looking to buy a Worlds trinket or just collect yet another Worlds memory, visit the official Riot store here. 

Prizing

The total prize for Worlds 2022 is $2,225,000. Since the world champions will win the Summoner’s Cup, 22 percent of the total prize, and all income from the future team-themed skins, the runner-ups will get only 15 percent of the total prize. The third and fourth-placed teams will take eight percent of the total prize, and the fifth to eighth-place teams will receive 4.5 percent of the prize pool. Other teams will also receive monetary compensation that is less than 2.5 percent of the total prize pool.

Streams

When it comes to broadcasting, Riot made sure there are more than enough platforms where you can watch Worlds 2022. First, there is the official Riot website, where you can also watch VODs, track the current standings, and see how your Pick’ems are doing. Other than that, you can follow Worlds 2022 matches on Twitch and YouTube. If you’re looking for a stream in a language other than English, there’s a wide variety of German, Japanese, French, and Spanish streams that offer full game commentary and analysis of equal quality to the English streams.