LoL Worlds 2025 Has Already Started!
The World Championship of League of Legends, also called “Worlds” among Riot’s official representatives and fans, is still the highest point for competitive eSports for a decade at least. From its beginning in 2011, the LoL Worlds has become a massive international event attracting millions to watch. Top LoL teams around the globe compete against each other for the prestigious Summoner’s Cup with millions of dollars as the shared prize pool. LoL Worlds 2025 has already started across the globe with the main events planned for hosting in China. It will be the 15th championship and the third time when China is hosting.
Also, Riot introduced the new schedule for the Worlds 2025 LoL fans can’t wait to see it. The last year’s champs – the T1 team from South Korea (the region is League of Legends Champions Korea a.k.a. LCK) intend on protecting their title in 2025 as well.
The Worlds 2025 aims at bringing intense drama with high stakes as well as innovative formats – fans won’t get bored while watching the LoL eSports live score in real time this year.
The YaninaGames team as huge LoL fans will tell more about the location, format, and schedule. Keep on reading!
They Return to China – LoL Worlds Location in 2025
On October 24, 2024, during a launch event conjoined with his prolonged partnership with the OPPO smartphone brand, Riot Games revealed where is LoL Worlds 2025 is happening.
Major 2025 the Worlds LoL events will be hosted in China. It is the third time the country will host the championship after it took place in 2017 in the cities of Wuhan, Guangzhou, and Shanghai and during the first outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 in Shanghai.
During Riot’s season kickoff video posted on January 8, 2025, some Chinese host cities were revealed for the major international LoL event:
- The Play-In and Swiss Stages will be played in Beijing;
- Quarterfinals and Semifinals in Shanghai;
- The Grand Final is set for Chengdu;
This city was confirmed on November 1, 2024, during the media day of the 2024 Worlds Final held at The O2 Arena in London. Clearly, such LoL Worlds 2025 location as Chengdu was picked because this city successfully hosted the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), a massive eSports tournament that many LoL fans enjoy.
It’s no surprise since League of Legends esports is slayed in China and local fans are incredibly devoted. It has seen several world champions emerge from the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) including Invictus Gaming (2018), FunPlus Phoenix (2019), and several other teams like JD Gaming and Bilibili Gaming. Who remembers Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium 2017?
It seems that the Lol Worlds 2025 Chengdu location will be a modern eSports hub (currently in the making. While Beijing and Shanghai will probably make use of their already existing eSports venues.
However, this focus on China as the major LoL Worlds 2025 location is suspiciously biased (North America and Europe haven’t hosted since 2022 and 2024, respectively). And Riot’s rotation strategy aspires to make global regional equity a thing over time. You should check the official Wikipedia page to follow Riot’s updates about the Worlds 2025 location for LoL Splits and pre-final events.
A New Competitive Schedule is Coming for LoL Worlds 2025!
Riot Games revealed that LoL Worlds 2025 will have a new schedule and format. The competitive year traditionally consisted of these two Splits with MSI happening in May and Worlds hosted in October – November.
Starting in 2025, LoL Worlds will include three Splits across five major regions:
- LCK (Korea);
- LPL (China);
- League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA);
- League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP);
- League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC);
In such a way, you may get the international tournament known as “The First Stand” in March, then push MSI to July and conclude the LoL 2025 Worlds’ grand finale.
We expect these major stages in the LoL Worlds 2025 schedule:
- The First Stand (Seoul, South Korea) concludes Series 1 with 2 Splits: January-March and The Final Stand during October-November;
- MSI (Canada) will also have 2 Splits – somewhere through April-July;
- Regional Championships and LoL 2025 Worlds will be hosted in 3 Splits – from August to October;
These qualifiers for the Worlds 2025 will be decided at the Regional Championships following the Split 3 matches. However, the exact dates are still pending after the traditional fall window.
This restructuring also makes regional leagues critical. North America’s LCS is combined with Brazil’s CBLOL and Latin America’s LLA into a two-conference system (North & South) while Southeast Asia’s PCS, Vietnam’s VCS and Japan’s LJL play under the banner of the LCP with Oceania’s LCO.
There will be three teams from each new league (besides LCK, LPL, and LEC) going directly to the Worlds’ Swiss Stage, meaning 15 of the 24 spots as the major offer.
The LoL Worlds 2025 Tournament Format
First and foremost, LoL Worlds 2025 will include 17 teams, down from 20 that were qualified for the Worlds 2024.
The format will keep the 3-stage structure Play-In, Swiss, and Knockout with changes:
- Final Swiss Stage qualifying round. One best-of-five match pairing two teams will be decided during the matches of Play-In between eight teams until shaved down to 2 teams in 2024;
- Swiss Stage. 15 direct qualifiers and the Play In winner will compete in a Swiss format consisting of 5 rounds. The first stage of the league will pick the best of all matches until all teams take 3 wins (advancing) or 3 losses (eliminated). No rematches are allowed. Introduced in 2023, this format is more flexible and interesting to watch since it is harder to predict who may win;
- The Best of Five Series. Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Grand Final are elimination stages for 8 teams. The champion will be crowned at the Chengdu’s Grand Final;
There is one confirmed thing for sure – the MSI 2025 winner takes an automatic Worlds slot if they manage to make it to their region’s Split 3 playoffs. Some insiders suggest that the second best team after MSI 2025 will gain an extra slot, making the total 18 teams taking part in LoL Worlds 2025. Riot has capped the official number of qualified slots – 17.
Lol Worlds 2025 – Qualification and Contenders
Unlike most Olympic eSports events, LoL Worlds 2025 will have a quite busy schedule for qualifications that are already running. Split 3 Regional Championships will happen across 5 regions participating in LoL Worlds 2025 – LCK, LPL, LEC, LTA, and LCP.
Winners will have 3 direct Swiss Stage slots, though, the qualification format is still unclear at some points in such regions as LTA and LCK.
According to some rumors and logical suggestions, such famous LoL Worlds 2025 teams will fight for the qualification places:
- T1 (who will feature Faker during his 10th Worlds) can return as the 2024 champion;
- Gen.G (2024 MSI winners), Hanwha Life Esports, and Dplus Kia also can visit the major Worlds 2025 LoL location;
- Bilibili Gaming (2024 runners-up) and JD Gaming, Top Esports, LNG Esports, with the country’s home advantage will strive to show their best;
- G2 Esports, Fnatic, and MAD Lions KOI attempt to recapture Europe’s glory but G2’s 2024 quarter-final exit doesn’t make their fans too optimistic;
- Team Liquid (Americas), FlyQuest (North,) and paiN Gaming (South) could shine;
- PSG Talon, GAM Esports, and a Japanese or Oceanic’s “dark horse” may rise up, but the effects of the merger are yet to be realized in LCP (Asia-Pacific);
LoL Worlds 2025 – Prize Pool and Rewards Speculations
T1 won $450,000 (20%) of the $2.25 million as the basic base prize pool of LoL Worlds 2024. The additional in-game revenue like rare skins was also given to all the participants and some viewers. If Riot follows its pattern, the LoL Worlds 2025’s pool will remain unannounced till the second half of the year, but it’s likely to be similar or slightly higher.
Personally, we and some bookmakers suspect the final prize pool to be around $2.5 – $3 million. Traditionally, winners can design champion skins, which is a great perk to players and Riot’s fans.
The LoL Worlds 2025 Facts We Still Do Not Know Yet (As of February 2025):
- The previous Worlds events suggest that their finals may be running during the first dates of November 2025. We are still waiting for the official Riot’s reveal;
- The announcement of specific arenas in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu;
- Official dates for the 2025 Worlds LoL stream on Twitch, YouTube, and Riot’s platforms – including possibly an OPPO broadcast;
- The competitive patch (i.e. 25.x) will set the LoL Worlds 2025 meta and most likely be finalized after Split 3;
- After Split 3 and MSI results, Riot shared the detailed schedule by August;
China’s hosting may affect the Worlds LoL 2025’s ratings. The timing of the event also coincides with Riot’s drive towards three annual international tournaments, to determine whether such density is sustainable for the viewer interest or causes disinterest.
The fairness of the five-region consolidation is questioned, with smaller scenes like Vietnam’s VCS fearing it will be reduced and the “Play In” not allowing for new talent to participate. However, the Swiss Stage’s meritocracy and Knockout’s intensity will ensure competitive integrity.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many teams will take part in the Worlds in LoL 2025?
There will be seventeen LoL Worlds 2025 teams – 3 slots per region, 1 slot to the second-best performing region, and 1 slot to the region after defining the MSI 2025 leading teams.
What will be the Worlds 2025 LoL date?
We don’t know the exact dates. However, the first stages and preliminary events are already happening. The final stage will happen somewhere between October and November 2025.
Where will the Worlds 2025 be for LoL fans to watch?
China will host LoL Worlds 2025 for the third time. There will be a few LoL Worlds 2025 locations across China with Chengdu hosting the major final events.
Who can become the LoL Worlds 2025 champion?
In 2023 and 2024, T1 won the back-to-back titles and proved their champion status twice. As 2024 Finals MVP, “Faker’s dual skin” reward highlighted his legacy. However, the team continues to make roster changes as contracts expire in November 2025.
Conclusion
The YaninaGames team tried to clarify the key points we already know about one of the most important eSports events – LoL Worlds 2025. Riot’s long-term vision can be tested as China will become the main host of this global championship. Also, we can’t wait to see how the calendar and format changes will affect the leaders.
Who will become a LoL ultimate championship in 2025? Bookmark our website to know the latest updates about LoL. And, we also wait for you to contact us if you want to collaborate and create awesome video games.
