Riot Games has just dropped their first dev vlog of 2025, and it’s a goldmine for League of Legends fans. The video, published January 8 on X, features Global Head of LoL esports, Chris Greely, and COO of esports, Whalen Rozelle, revealing what fans can expect over the next couple of years.
As well as some revisions to the tournament format, they also announced the international event locations for 2026 and 2027. Great news for those of us who like to bag cheap flights by booking early. Also, if you start playing now, two years might be enough time to hone your skills enough to actually win. Just kidding, it’ll take you that long just to choose a character and figure out the game systems.
Updated structure for League of Legends Fearless draft
The Fearless draft in Split 1 will see a notable change in format, as Whalen Rozelle explains, “We want Fearless to bump up the competition to a new level by banning champions picked in previous games within a best-of series. This change will force teams to adapt and bring out their full champion pools.”
This means that any match-up you see in game one won’t be matched up for the rest of the series. This update aims to test teams’ creativity and adaptability, plus shake up any familiar strategic landscapes.
Global esports locations in 2025 and beyond
2025
Kicking off the international events is the which takes place from March 10 to March 16 in Seoul, South Korea. Here, the winning team will secure a second buy-in for the region at the Mid-Seasonal Invitational (MSI), allowing them to advance directly to the bracket stage.
This year, the MSI will take place in Vancouver from June 27 to July 12, the first League of Legends esports event to be held in Canada since the 2017 Spring Finals.
Next up, China will be hosting the 2025 World Championships across October and November, with the Play-Ins and Swiss Stage kicking off in Beijing. The quarter and semi-finals will happen in Shanghai, with the finals wrapping up a no-doubt thrilling final in Chengdu.
2026
Next year, the First Stand Tournament will be hosted by Brazil, followed by MSI in South Korea. The 2026 World Championship will return to North America, having been previously hosted in San Francisco in 2022.
2027
With specific cities and locations yet to be confirmed, League of Legends esports have confirmed that South East Asia will host First Stand 2027, with MSI returning to Europe, and the World Championship happening in South Korea.
Choose your champion
League of Legends was the most watched esports game of 2024, so all eyes will be on the fifteenth World Championship this year as the community goes from strength to strength. Last year, South Korean team, T1, slayed the competition to take home the World Championship trophy in London, defending their Seoul title from the previous year. With the Championship set to return to Asia, will they make it a hat-trick in 2025?
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