Riot Games reveals Worlds 2021 dates, location, and format

William Davis Published 09/09/2021

The last important details of the 2021 League of Legends World Championship are finally here. 

In a recent announcement by Riot Games, it was revealed that Worlds 2021 will be held from October 5 to November 6. The event will take place in Reykjavik, Iceland, following the recent relocation of the event from China due to travel issues. This will be the second international LoL event in Iceland this year after the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational, which was won by the LPL’s Royal Never Give Up. 

For Worlds 2021, the final will be hosted in the refurbished Hall A at the Laugardalshöll, which is an indoor sporting arena in Reykjavik. MSI 2021 was hosted in Hall B, so the location will be pretty much the exact same. This also means that there won’t be any live audience for this year’s championship. 

“While maintaining our focus on ensuring the health and safety of everyone involved in hosting, producing, and competing at the event, Worlds 2021 will not host a live audience,” Riot said.   

Worlds 2021 format revealed

With the Worlds 2021 location and teams in place, Riot also revealed the format for the tournament which is similar to last year’s format. 

Originally, Worlds 2021 was supposed to have a total of 24 teams but this has been cut down to 22 due to the fact that the VCS teams can’t participate, just like last year. This is once again due to travel restrictions, which will have Riot removing the two Vietnamese teams. 

As per usual, there will be a play-in stage where the lowest seeds of the major regions and wildcard regions get to clash for a shot at qualifying for the group stage of the tournament. The play-ins will run from October 5 to 9 and will feature 10 teams. 

These 10 teams will be drawn into two groups of five, which will be played out in a single round-robin format. The top team from each group will move on to the group stage automatically while seeds three and four will play out a best-of-five, with the winners challenging the second seed from the opposing group for the last two spots.

Moving onto the group stage, there will be 16 teams just like in previous years. These teams will be drawn into four groups with the top two advancing to the knockout stage. The knockout stage will be an eight-team, single-elimination playoffs with the grand finals taking place on November 6. 

Read Also

League of Legends

LoL: Europe Shines Against Korea in 2026 As NA Struggles To Keep Pace Ben Boland In 2026, Europe has had its best results against the East in LoL Esports history. While their losses to North America may overshadow their achievements, EU has a winning record against South Korea this year. Meanwhile, NA has the LEC’s number but has its worst head-to-head against the East since 2023 — here I will break down the key statistics that show this. After years of Europe being a shell ...

League of Legends

Which League of Legends Region Will Win 2026 Worlds? Hannan Mundia The League of Legends World Championship is easily the game’s most important annual tournament. The top teams from every major region compete for a chance to win the substantial cash prize and etch their names in League of Legends history. This year will be no different, with the 2026 Worlds coming  beginning on October 15. Teams from multiple regions have already qualified for the tournament, though their performances throughout the ...

Esports Betting

Cloud9 vs LYON LCS Summer Playoffs Upper Bracket: Best Bets and Predictions Ben Boland It’s a great time to be a League of Legends esports bettor with the LCS Summer playoffs heating up. We have Cloud9 looking to slay their playoff demons against LYON, a side that is looking to win their third straight championship. With LYON picking Cloud9 as their opponent, perhaps they are extremely confident they will get the job done, or are they underestimating the boys in blue? Stay tuned as ...

League of Legends

Team Liquid vs FlyQuest: Predictions & Best Bets for the LCS Summer Playoffs Ben Boland With the LCS Summer Playoffs heating up, Team Liquid is looking to make history with a surprise win over FlyQuest this weekend. It would mean TL would be competing at Worlds 2026 on home soil for the first time in the organisation's history. For FlyQuest, this is a chance to progress ahead of schedule with their young squad, getting some valuable reps on the biggest stage esports has to offer. ...

Esports Betting

Gen.G vs HLE: Best betting odds and picks for LCK 2026 grand final Hannan Mundia The 2026 LCK grand final will see HLE challenge Gen.G to determine which team walks away with the first-place prize, giving the winning team a much-needed confidence boost before the World Championship. After every top professional Korean League of Legends team has poured sweat and time, this year’s LCK split is finally about to conclude. The grand final match will be between the powerhouse team Gen.G and the challenging Hanwha ...

Esports Betting

Here Are My Predictions For The Hanwha Life Esports vs T1 LCK Lower Final Ben Boland LCK fans are in for a treat as Hanwha Life Esports and T1 both battle for a ticket to the grand final, where Gen.G awaits. The last time these two met, they tore the house down. I expect more of the same this time in the lower final. Here are the best bets to make on HLE vs T1 in the LCK 2026 Summer Playoffs Lower Final at GG.BET, one ...

League of Legends

Riot Games eyes Polymarket and Kalshi for esports sponsorships Michael Hassall Riot Games, the creator of League of Legends and VALORANT is reportedly exploring the protentional of sponsorship deals with prediction market operators including Polymarket and Kalshi, as per reports emerging late last night (Sep. 10). First reported by Cecilia D’Anastasio of Bloomberg, Riot has started conversations with the two top prediction market operators, Kalshi and Polymarket, with a view to one or both of them becoming sponsors within Riot Games’ ...