Join us along the journey to crown a champion at the largest and most prestigious League of Legends esports event of the year: Worlds.

The 2017 League of Legends World Championship is right around the corner, so let’s break down everything you need to know about League’s most epic event:

WHAT IS THE 2017 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP?

The 2017 League of Legends World Championship, also known as Worlds, is an international esports event where top teams from across the globe battle to hoist the World Championship trophy. The event moves host regions every year and this year the event will take place in multiple venues across China.

WHEN IS WORLDS HAPPENING?

Worlds will begin with the Play-In Stage on September 23 and conclude with Finals on November 4.

WHO IS PARTICIPATING AT WORLDS 2017?

We’ve expanded Worlds this year to include more teams/regions than ever before. Here’s a breakdown of the regions competing at Worlds and the amount of spots (referred to as ‘seeds’) their teams are allocated:

• Korea (LCK) – 3 seeds
• China (LPL) – 3 seeds
• Europe (EU LCS) – 3 seeds
• North America (NA LCS) – 3 seeds
• Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau (LMS) – 3 seeds
• Southeast Asia (GPL) – 2 seeds
• Brazil (CBLOL) – 1 seed
• Commonwealth of Independent States (LCL) – 1 seed
• Japan (LJL) – 1 seed
• Latin America North (LLN) – 1 seed
• Latin America South (CLS) – 1 seed
• Oceania (OPL) – 1 seed
• Turkey (TCL) – 1 seed

The teams that will be attending are:

Korea – LCK:

• Longzhu Gaming (LZ)
• SK telecom T1 (SKT)
• Samsung Galaxy (SSG)

China – LPL:

• Edward Gaming (EDG)
• Royal Never Give Up (RNG)
• Team WE (WE)

Europe – EU LCS:

• G2 Esports (G2)
• Misfits (MSF)
• Fnatic (FNC)

North America – NA LCS:

• TSM (TSM)
• Immortals (IMT)
• Cloud9 (C9)

Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau – LMS:

• Flash Wolves (FW)
• ahq e-Sports Club (AHQ)
• Hong Kong Attitude (HKA)

Southeast Asia – GPL:

• GIGABYTE Marines (GAM)
• Young Generation (YG)

Brazil – CBLOL:

• Team oNe eSports (ONE)

Commonwealth of Independent States – LCL:

• Gambit Esports (GMB)

Japan – LJL:

• Rampage (RPG)

Latin America North – LLN:

• Lyon Gaming (LYN)

Latin America South – CLS:

• Kaos Latin Gamers (KLG)

Oceania – OPL:

• Dire Wolves (DW)

Turkey – TCL:

• 1907 Fenerbahçe Espor (FB)

WHAT’S CHANGED THIS YEAR?

The LMS has been awarded a third seed due to consistently strong international performances. In addition to this, as a result of their finish at MSI, the GigaByte Marines earned an extra spot for the Southeast Asia region.

As mentioned earlier, this year’s World Championship has the most teams we’ve ever hosted, and more teams equals more seeds. The regions that used to participate in wildcard events now have seeds that send them straight to Worlds. Win your regional final and punch your ticket — it’s that simple.

To accommodate the additional teams we’ve added another stage to the tournament. Just like earlier this year at the Mid-Season Invitational, there will be a Play-In Stage preceding the Group Stage. This stage allows us to invite more great teams and give them a chance to earn a spot in the Group Stage. Come out of the Play-Ins as one of the top four teams and you’re on to the next round.

WHAT’S THE FORMAT?

Worlds will be played in three stages this year: A Play-In Stage, then the Group Stage, followed up by the Knockout Stage (Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals).

Play-In Stage (September 23-26 + September 28-29)

The new addition to the 2017 format is the Play-In. In this stage, 12 teams are split into four groups, where they’ll play a Double Round Robin, Best of 1 (Bo1) within their group. Based on those results, the top two teams from each group will advance to Round 2 where the #1 and #2 seeds are randomly paired to play a single Best of 5 (Bo5) match to determine who moves on to the Group Stage.

Group Stage (October 5-8 + October 12-15)

For the Group Stage, 12 teams will have auto-qualified based on their performances before Worlds. They will be joined by the four teams who successfully battled their way out of the Play-Ins. These 16 teams will be sorted into four groups comprised of four teams. Each group will play in a Double Round Robin, Best of 1 format. The top two finishers from each group will move on to the final leg of the tournament: the Knockout Stage.

Interested in how groups are selected for the Play-In and Group Stage? Check out the Draw Shows that aired on Lolesports on September 12 at 5 AM PT.

Knockout Stage (October 19-22 + October 28-29 + November 4)

Eight teams will move on to the third and final stage of the 2017 World Championship that’s made up of the Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals. The tournament will transition to a single-elimination bracket with all matches being played in the Best of 5 format. The team who emerges victorious will be crowned the champions of Worlds 2017.