Seventeen teams from all regions of professional League of Legends have qualified across both the play-in and group stages so far of the League of Legends World Championship.
Three of the major regions have confirmed two teams each to the worlds group stage through championship points. From North America, Team SoloMid and Immortals have qualified. In Europe, G2 Esports and Misfits will attend worlds, and in China, Royal Never Give Up and EDward Gaming have made it.
With the champions of each major region’s summer split automatically qualifying for worlds as the region’s first seed, the runner up will be awarded 90 points to add to their spring split points for a chance for the second seed spot in the group stage. NA, Europe, and China’s confirmed teams are all finalists of their respective regions, and with the additional points for second place, both finalists will qualify either through championship points or winning the summer finals.
Taiwan’s LMS will send the Flash Wolves as the champion of the region’s summer split, marking a third worlds berth in a row for Flash Wolves. The second seed went to ahq e-Sports Club, another Taiwanese powerhouse that finished the spring split in third place and competed in three of the previous world championships.
South Korea, the most dominant region in League of Legends, will send Longzhu Gaming as the region’s first seed after winning the LCK summer split, marking the organization’s first venture into worlds. The second place seed will go to three time world champion SK Telecom T1, which qualified with 180 championship points. Korea will also have the unique honor of sending three of its teams to the group stages, with the regional tournament determining which of Afreeca Freecs, Samsung Galaxy, or KT Rolster will compete at worlds.
Following the unexpected 2017 Mid-Season Invitational run by the GIGABYTE Marines from Vietnam, Southeast Asia was granted two spots to worlds, with the champion of the region’s summer split making it to the group stages, which turned out to be GIGABYTE Marines.
Six teams from the smaller regions of the league have also qualified. Rampage (Japan), Kaos Latin Gamers (Latin America South), Lyon Gaming (Latin America North) and 1907 Fenerbahçe (Turkey) have all qualified for the play-in stages by winning their regions’ summer split. Young Generation will join the play-in as the runner up of Southeast Asia’s summer split, and Hong Kong Attitude from LMS clinched its first worlds berth through the regional tournament as the third seed — also attending the play-in stage.
The play-in stage will be rounded out by the the champions of Brazil’s CBLOL Winter, The Oceanic Pro League summer and the CIS’ LCL Summer, as well as the third seed teams of NA, Europe, and China, which will be determined in each of their regional tournaments.
The world championship this year has expanded to 24 total teams, with every major and minor region taking part in the game’s largest annual tournament. The top four teams in the play-in will join the 12 teams that qualified for the group stage for a chance to win the world championship.
Cover photo courtesy of Riot Games