LoL Worlds 2022: Starting Date, Schedule, Location

The LoL Worlds 2022 are inching closer and closer with the top teams separating themselves from the lower seeded ones, all for a chance to lift the most sough after trophy in esports – the Summoner's Cup. So, where is the League of Legends World Championship going to take place and who has qualified thus far?

We know that thanks to the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational in South Korea, both the LPL and LCK will be fielding four teams at the LoL Worlds 2022 in North America, but who will the home region send to represent the LCS? 

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LoL Worlds 2022 Location Revealed by Riot

The 2022 LoL World Championship is going to be held in multiple cities throughout North America. As usual, Riot has a dedicated Play-In Phase, as well as a Main-Phase of the tournament. Teams and players who have qualified for the Play-In Phase of the 2022 World Championship will be heading to Mexico City, while those making it automatically to the Main-Stage will be going to New York City. 

Worlds Play-In Stage Location

As already mentioned the Play-In's are going to be held in Mexico City. This stage brings together minor regions, as well as the last seeds of major regions like the LEC, LCS, LCK and LPL. The event will be taking place at the Arena Esports Stadium, which is the home of the LLA.

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Worlds Group & Quaterfinals Location

The 2022 League of Legends World Championship will have its group stage and quarterfinals played at the same arena in New York City. This isn't the first time the World Championship has made its way to New York. In 2016, the semi-finals between SKT T1 vs. Rox Tigers and Samsung Galaxy vs. H2K Esports were held at Madison Square Garden. 

This time around the players will  be playing in a much smaller environment, making the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden their home for the Group Stage and Quarterfinals. 

Worlds Semifinals Location

Originally, Riot had planned for the Semifinals to be in Toronto, Canada, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they have had to shift around the schedule and moved the Semifinals to Atlanta, Georgia. The event will be held at the State Farm Arena, which can hold up to 21,000 fans. 

Worlds Finals Location

For the finals we are going to be making our way out west. The Finals event location was revealed last year, shortly after the 2021 World Championship concluded during a Basketball game at Chase Center. So, for any fans in San Francisco, get ready, because over 18,000 fans could be allowed into the venue for the 2022 League of Legends World Championship finals. 

The LoL Worlds 2022 Schedule - When Are the Games? 

On July 21, 2022 Riot revealed the official schedule of the League of Legends World Championship. The event is going to kick off on September 29 and end November 5 in San Francisco, California. 

Full Worlds 2022 Schedule: 

• Play-Ins: September 29-October 4 at the Arena Esports Stadium at Artz Pedregal in Mexico City, Mexico;
• Groups: October 7-10 and October 13-16 at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden in New York City;
• Quarterfinals: October 20-23 at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden in New York City;
• Semifinals: October 29-30 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia;
• Finals: November 5 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California.

+5

The 5 Best Finals Series in LoL Worlds History

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LoL World Championship Format Explained

The League of Legends World Championship format is very easy to understand. As previously mentioned, there are different stages of the tournament, starting with the play-in stage. 12 teams get put into three groups of 4. These groups will play a small tournament to find the last 4-qualifying teams for the main event of the World Championship. 

Once the play-in teams are put into the groups for the group stage the main event can start. Four groups of 4 make up the main event, the first two teams of each group making it into the Quarterfinals where teams will play a knockout bracket. 

Does the 2022 League of Legends World Championship Have Double Elimination? 

Many fans have asked for Riot to implement a double elimination bracket at their international tournament, but this has  not been implemented in League of Legends yet. On the other hand, VALORANT, which is Riot's FPS esport does have a double elimination bracket in their big events, but we do not think that this will be implemented during the 2022 League of Legends World Championship. 

Which Teams Have Qualified for the 2022 LoL World Championship? 

24 teams are eligible to attend the biggest League of Legends esports tournament of the year, with minor regions like Turkey, Oceania and Brazil getting one slot, while bigger regions either receive two or three team slots at the event. Korea, China and Europe will have four teams coming to the event. 

Europe has been awarded a fourth slot due to the LCL not competing and taking part in the World Championship. Therefore, the LCL's spot in the Play-In stage has been awarded to the fourth seed of the LEC, meaning the LEC will feature two-teams in the Play-In phase. 

Thus far no team has qualified yet for the League of Legends World Championship, but we will make sure to update you when a team has managed to make it. 

The First Team Qualified for the 2022 League of Legends World Championship

The first team to have qualified for the 2022 LoL World Championship was the LEC MSI representative G2 Esports. The team had a slump midway through the Summer Split, but finished off strong to earn their sport in North America. 

Worlds 2022 Groups 

After the regional summer splits just ended, we now have the results for the various groups for Words 2022. C9 and G2 fans should look away for this one. 

Play-Ins Groups

Group A

• Fnatic (LEC)
• Beyond Gaming (PCS)
• Evil Geniuses (LCS)
• LOUD (CBLOL)
• Chiefs Esports Club (LCO)

Group B

• DRX (LCK)
• Royal Never Give Up (LPL)
• Saigon Buffalo (VCS)
• MAD Lions (LEC)
• Istanbul Wildcats (TCL)
• Isurus (LLA)

What is the League of Legends World Championship? 

Riot has two big international League of Legends events each year. The biggest is definitely the World Championship, which brings together the top 24-teams from every single region in the world. The event first took place in 2011 where it was part of Dreamhack, but in 2012 Riot decided to put on their own event in Los Angeles. 

Since then, it has only grown and is now one of the most viewed esports events in the world. In 2021 the World Championship had a peak viewership of over 4-million people. This is huge for esports, putting the event on par with other worldwide sporting events.