The 2018 League of Legends World Championship kicks off on Oct. 1 with the play-in stage, and it’s shaping up to be one of the most exciting in the game’s history.
With RNG’s Cinderella story victory over Kingzone DragonX at MSI, eyes have been plastered all over the LPL this summer to track their progress into Worlds. If China could take down Korea at MSI, they might also be the first region to do it at Worlds. China’s helmed by RNG at Worlds again, and they’ll have a shot at finally dethroning the LCK. But the competition is fierce, despite SK Telecom T1 not being in attendance.
Moreover, North America will try (again) to prove to its fans that they deserve to be on the Worlds stage. Team Liquid will have that weight on their shoulders this year, as they’ll attempt to redeem year after year of NA teams falling short. Europe’s Fnatic looks strong, too, but they’ll have to compete with China’s Invictus Gaming in the group stage.
Here’s the full schedule for the 2018 World Championship.
Play-ins
Play-in Group Stage
Monday, Oct. 1 at 3am CT (5pm local time)
- Edward Gaming vs. Infinity Esports
- G2 Esports vs. Bahçeşehir SuperMassive
- Dire Wolves vs. Infinity Esports
- Ascension Gaming vs. Bahçeşehir SuperMassive
- Dire Wolves vs. Edward Gaming
- Ascension Gaming vs. G2 Esports
Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 3am CT (5pm local time)
- Cloud9 vs. KaBuM! e-Sports
- Gambit Esports vs. G-Rex
- DetonatioN FocusMe vs. KaBuM! e-Sports
- G-Rex vs. Kaos Latin Gamers
- DetonatioN FocusMe vs. Cloud9
- Gambit Esports vs. Kaos Latin Gamers
Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 3am CT (5pm local time)
- Bahçeşehir SuperMassive vs. G2 Esports
- Infinity Esports vs. Edward Gaming
- Bahçeşehir SuperMassive vs. Ascension Gaming
- Infinity Esports vs. Dire Wolves
- G2 Esports vs. Ascension Gaming
- Edward Gaming vs. Dire Wolves
Thursday, Oct. 4 at 3am CT (5pm local time)
- G-Rex vs. Gambit Esports
- KaBuM! e-Sports vs. DetonatioN FocusMe
- Kaos Latin Gamers vs. Gambit Esports
- KaBuM! e-Sports vs. Cloud9
- Kaos Latin Gamers vs. G-Rex
- Cloud9 vs. DetonatioN FocusMe
Play-in Knockout Stage
Saturday, Oct. 6 at 11pm CT (1pm local time)
- TBD vs. TBD
- TBD vs. TBD
Sunday, Oct. 7 at 11pm CT (1pm local time)
- TBD vs. TBD
- TBD vs. TBD
Groups
Round one
Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 3am CT (5pm local time)
- kt Rolster vs. Team Liquid
- TBD vs. MAD Team
- Phong Vũ Buffalo vs. Flash Wolves
- Afreeca Freecs vs. TBD
- RNG vs. TBD
- Gen.G vs. Team Vitality
Thursday, Oct. 11 at 3am CT (5pm local time)
- Flash Wolves vs. Afreeca Freecs
- Phong Vũ Buffalo vs. TBD
- 100 Thieves vs. Fnatic
- Invictus Gaming vs. TBD
- Team Vitality vs. TBD
- Gen.G vs. RNG
Friday, Oct. 12 at 3am CT (5pm local time)
- MAD Team vs. kt Rolster
- Team Liquid vs. TBD
- Fnatic vs. Invictus Gaming
- 100 Thieves vs. TBD
- RNG vs. Team Vitality
- TBD vs. Gen.G
Saturday, Oct. 13 at 3am CT (5pm local time)
- Afreeca Freecs vs. Phong Vũ Buffalo
- TBD vs. Flash Wolves
- Invictus Gaming vs. 100 Thieves
- TBD vs. Fnatic
- Team Liquid vs. MAD Team
- kt Rolster vs. TBD
Round two
Sunday, Oct. 14 at 3am CT (5pm local time)
- Team Vitality vs. RNG
- Gen.G vs. TBD
- Team Vitality vs. Gen.G
- TBD vs. RNG
- TBD vs. Team Vitality
- RNG vs. Gen.G
Monday, Oct. 15 at 3am CT (5pm local time)
- Afreeca Freecs vs. Flash Wolves
- TBD vs. Phong Vũ Buffalo
- Flash Wolves vs. TBD
- Phong Vũ Buffalo vs. Afreeca Freecs
- Flash Wolves vs. Phong Vũ Buffalo
- TBD vs. Afreeca Freecs
Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 3am CT (5pm local time)
- Team Liquid vs. kt Rolster
- MAD Team vs. TBD
- MAD Team vs. Team Liquid
- TBD vs. kt Rolster
- TBD vs. Team Liquid
- kt Rolster vs. MAD Team
Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 3am CT (5pm local time)
- Fnatic vs. 100 Thieves
- TBD vs. Invictus Gaming
- Fnatic vs. TBD
- 100 Thieves vs. Invictus Gaming
- TBD vs. 100 Thieves
- Invictus Gaming vs. Fnatic
Knockout stage
Quarterfinals
Saturday, Oct. 20 at 11pm CT (1pm local time)
- TBD vs. TBD
- TBD vs. TBD
Sunday, Oct. 21 at 11pm CT (1pm local time)
- TBD vs. TBD
- TBD vs. TBD
Semifinals
Saturday, Oct. 27 at 3am CT (5pm local time)
TBD vs. TBD
Sunday, Oct. 28 at 3am CT (5pm local time)
TBD vs. TBD
Finals
Saturday, Nov. 3 at 3am CT (5pm local time)
TBD vs. TBD
