Four weeks, three cities, one goal: the Summoner’s Cup awaits. Worlds 2025 returns to China with new formats, new locations, and a new knockout marathon.
The League of Legends World Championship (Worlds) 2025 will take place in China from October 14 to November 9 – and will bring several new features with it. The starting signal will be given in Beijing: The brand-new Beijing Smart Esports Center will host a Riot Major for the first time.
Both the Play-Ins and the Swiss Stage will take place there. New: According to Riot’s press release, the play-ins will be redesigned: All regions will get three spots at Worlds. Another will be decided on October 14 in a best-of-five match between the two highest-ranked regions from the MSI. That’s likely to be Korea and China.
A total of 16 teams will then qualify for the Swiss round, which Riot will play according to the familiar system: Three wins means you advance to the next round, three losses means you’re out. Eight teams remain in the tournament. Is that fair? We explored this question in 2023 when Riot first introduced the new system. If you want to get in the mood for Worlds, you’ll find everything you need to know about this topic here.
Knockouts without a break
The entourage then moves on to Shanghai. The knockouts will take place at the Mercedes-Benz Arena starting on October 28—and, for the first time, without a break. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be held directly after each other without interruption. This will save Riot at least one week of tournament time. The publisher is calling it “non-stop cinema,” but it’s likely also related to costs.
Riot will then take a week’s break between the final and the knockout rounds, as usual. The final will take place on November 9 in Chengdu, in the architecturally spectacular Dong’an Lake Sports Park.
Riot is once again going all out for Worlds, with each of the three stadiums providing an impressive backdrop. There are reasons for this too: LoL eSports is celebrating its 15th birthday.
MSI winner the clear favorite
The favorites, on the other hand, will remain unchanged this year. MSI winner Gen.G is, as always, considered the clear favorite for the title, but will have to deliver at Worlds for the first time.
After that come the usual suspects around ‘Faker’s T1 and the Chinese teams, who will be looking to make the most of their home advantage. ‘Faker’ is the reigning world champion.
Europe and America don’t play a major role on the international stage – for them, it’s all about direct competition. America came out on top in both the MSI and Worlds. However, G2 surprisingly took the lead in Saudi Arabia at the EWC – perhaps a glimmer of hope.
