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League of Legends Worlds 2021 was a major success with Riot Games reporting a 60% increase in viewership over Worlds 2020 and the publisher wants to make next year’s world championship even bigger. Worlds is returning to North America for 2022 and Riot Games will be hosting the event in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
The format for next year’s world championship will not go through any major changes and we will have the usual play-in stage, group stage and the playoffs. The grand finals will take place in San Francisco, California but Mexico and Canada will be hosting some of the previous stages.
Riot Games’ plans for 2022’s League of Legends World Championship
This will be the first time Riot Games has hosted a multinational North American Worlds, making first-time stops in both Mexico and Canada. The Worlds 2022 event will feature:
Play-Ins in Mexico City, Mexico
Groups and Quarterfinals in New York City
Semifinals in Toronto, Canada
Finals in San Francisco, California
The Worlds 2022 venue lineup also includes Play-Ins from LoL Esports’ Liga Latinoamerica (LLA) competition arena which shall be followed by both Groups and the Quarterfinals at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York.
Chase Center, San Francisco, will be the 10th unique arena to host a Worlds Final. The three most recent Worlds Finals venues and locations include:
Laugardalshöll Sport Center in Reykjavík, Iceland (2021)
SAIC Motor Pudong Arena in China (2020)
AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France (2019)
Worlds 2022 will be hosted under new leadership
Riot Games recently promoted esports and gaming executive John Needham to the role of President, Esports. Needham is now one of the most senior executives at the company and will be responsible for all premier Riot Games events including Worlds 2022.
He will continue to oversee the Valorant Champions Tour event until Riot Games finds a replacement. Needham will update League of Legends fans with more information about the 2022 season’s play-in events at a later date.
