Worlds to Take Place in Korea
Riot, the makers of the massively popular competitive video game League of Legends, recently announced some of the dates and locations of their major tournaments for 2018 on that games website. The announcement gives the rough details for four events. These are some of the biggest League events of the year and includes the 2018 worlds.
Mid-Season Invitational 2018
MSI this year is taking place in Europe for the first time. More exciting is that it will take place across two countries on that continent. The Play-In and Group stages will take place in Berlin, Germany at the EU LCS Studio on MAY 3rd though 6th, 8th through the 9th and 11th through 15th. Then the Knockout stage will be in Paris at the Zenith Paris La Villette on May 18th through the 20th.
Rift Rivals 2018
This years Rift Rivals will take place July 2nd through the 8th in all regions. All of the host regions will rotate this year as follows; North America vs. Europe will be held in the United States. China vs. Korea vs. LMS will be held in China. Brazil vs. Latam North vs. Latam South will be held in Brazil. Oceania vs. Southeast Asia vs. Japan will be hosted in Australia. Vietnam VS. Russia VS. Turkey will be hosted by Vietnam. The notice made special note that with Vietnam becoming an independent competitive region they will be grouped with Turkey and CIS for Rift Rivals.
All-Star Event
Ending the year will be 2018’s All-Star Event. Here the announcement had the dates, December 3rd through 9th, but little else. The announcement only said the event “will be returning to North America,” Though they do go on to mention that “we’ll have more details as to format and focus down the road.” The Outerhaven will keep you posted.
Worlds 2018
The biggest news of course is that Worlds is coming back to the Korean peninsula for 2018. Unfortunately, that’s really all the information we got. The announcement stated that;
As the reigning champions of the competitive League of Legends landscape, and pioneers in the world of esports, Korea will be the host region of the entirety of the 2018 World Championship. This year, 24 teams will compete for the Summoner’s Cup across multiple cities and venues throughout Korea.
While there’s nothing confirming it, Korea did just host the Winter Olympics. It’s possible that some of these Olympic facilities could see use as esports venues. Given League of Legends popularity and the fact that many of these venues won’t see the same level of use immediately it’s certainly a possibility. Add to that is the specific wording, “throughout Korea” used in the announcement. Food for thought, but only time will tell. One way or another 2018 promises to be a great year for competitive League of Legends.