2023 League of Legends World Championship

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League of Legends
World Championship
2023
Tournament information
SportLeague of Legends
LocationSouth Korea
DatesOctober 10–November 19
AdministratorRiot Games
Tournament
format(s)
8 team GSL-style double-elimination bracket play-in stage
16 team swiss stage
8 team single-elimination bracket from quarterfinals onward
Venue(s)
4 (in 2 host cities)
  • Seoul (play-ins, swiss stage, final)
  • Busan (quarterfinals, semifinals)
Teams22
Final positions
ChampionT1
Runner-upWeibo Gaming
Tournament statistics
Attendance18,000 (Finals)[1]
MVPChoi "Zeus" Woo-je (T1)
← 2022
2024 →

The 2023 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the thirteenth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. The tournament began in South Korea on October 10 until November 19.[2] Twenty-two teams from nine regions qualified for the tournament based on their placement in regional circuits;[3] defending champions DRX[4] failed to do so after losing to Dplus KIA in the 2023 LCK Regional Finals.[5][6] JD Gaming were in contention to become the first team to complete the "Golden Road"[a], but lost to eventual champions T1 in the semifinals of the knockout stage.[7]

"Gods" (stylized in all caps), performed by NewJeans, was announced as the tournament's theme song.[8][9] A virtual boyband named "Heartsteel" (stylized in all caps) was unveiled by Riot Games during the event, with Baekhyun from Exo and SuperM, ØZI, Tobi Lou and Cal Scruby representing the group as its human counterpart and in the live performance of their debut song, "Paranoia".[10]

The final took place on 19 November 2023 at the Gocheok Sky Dome, where T1 defeated Weibo Gaming by a 3–0 score, marking the organization's record-extending fourth World Championship.[11][12] The event's concurrent viewership reached a peak of 6.4 million viewers, breaking the all-time viewership record for a single esports event, not accounting for Chinese viewership.[13]

Format changes[edit]

Starting from 2023, teams from LCL (CIS), TCL (Turkey), and LCO (Oceania) region no longer qualified directly for Worlds due to their leagues being cancelled (LCL, by the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine) and downgraded (TCL became a regional league for EMEA Masters, LCO was merged into PCS).

The number of teams was decreased from 24 to 22 compared to 2022. For seedings, first-seeded teams from PCS (Asia-Pacific) and VCS (Vietnam) were relegated to start in the play-in stage, while fourth-seeded teams from LCK (South Korea), LPL (China) and third-seeded from LEC (EMEA) and LCS (North America) were promoted to the main event. Prior to the kick off of the tournament, a "Worlds Qualifying Series" match between the fourth-seeded teams from LEC and LCS was played to decide the last team for the play-in stage.[14]

Play-in groups were changed to a GSL-style double-elimination format, while main event's first stage was changed from a double round-robin group stage to a Swiss format.[15]

Qualified teams[edit]

The following teams qualified for the event:[16]

Region League Path Team Pool
Starting in the main event's Swiss stage
South Korea LCK Summer Champion Gen.G 1
Most Championship Points T1 2
Regional Finals Winner KT Rolster 3
Regional Finals Runner-Up Dplus KIA 4
China LPL Summer Champion JD Gaming 1
Most Championship Points Bilibili Gaming 2
Regional Finals Winner LNG Esports 3
Regional Finals Runner-Up Weibo Gaming 4
EMEA LEC Season Finals Champion G2 Esports 1
Season Finals Runner-Up Fnatic 2
Season Finals Place MAD Lions 3
North America LCS Championship Champion NRG Esports 1
Championship Runner-Up Cloud9 2
Championship Third Place Team Liquid 3
Starting in the Play-in stage
EMEA LEC Worlds Qualifying Series Winner Team BDS 1
Asia-Pacific PCS Summer Champion PSG Talon 1
Summer Runner-Up CTBC Flying Oyster 1
Vietnam VCS Summer Champion GAM Esports 1
Summer Runner-Up Team Whales 2
Japan LJL Summer Champion DetonatioN FocusMe 2
Brazil CBLOL Split 2 Champion LOUD 2
Latin America LLA Closing Champion Movistar R7 2

Venues[edit]

The Swiss Stage was played at KBS Arena (pictured above is the match between T1 and BLG)

Seoul and Busan were the two cities chosen to host the tournament.[17][18] The LoL Park, which hosted the play-in stage of the tournament, is the only venue that hosted a Worlds tournament, having hosted the same phase during the 2018 League of Legends World Championship.

South Korea
Seoul Busan Seoul
Play-in Stage[b] Swiss Stage Quarterfinals and Semifinals Finals
LoL Park KBS Arena Sajik Indoor Gymnasium Gocheok Sky Dome
Capacity: 450 Capacity: 1,824 Capacity: 14,099 Capacity: 16,744

Worlds Qualifying Series[edit]

  • Date and time: October 9, start time at 13:00 (KST) (UTC+9)
  • The fourth-seeded teams from LEC (Team BDS) and LCS (Golden Guardians) faced off in a best-of-five series to determine the last team that would qualify for the play-in stage.[19]
Qualifying Match
October 9, 1:00 pm
Team BDS3
Golden Guardians0

Play-in stage[edit]

Groups[edit]

  • Date and time: October 10–14, start time at 16:00 KST (UTC+9)
  • 8 teams were divided into 2 groups of four teams each playing in a GSL-style double-elimination format. Teams from same region could not be placed in the same group.
  • All matches were best-of-three.
Group A
Opening MatchesWinner's MatchAdvance to Qualifiers
October 10, 7:00 pm
LOUD2
October 12, 4:00 pm
GAM Esports0
LOUD0
October 10, 4:00 pmA1PSG Talon
PSG Talon2
Movistar R70
PSG Talon2
Elimination MatchDecider Match
October 14, 4:00 pm
October 13, 4:00 pmLOUD0
A2GAM Esports
GAM Esports2GAM Esports2
Movistar R70
Group B
Opening MatchesWinner's MatchAdvance to Qualifiers
October 11, 7:00 pm
Team BDS1
October 12, 7:00 pm
Team Whales2
Team Whales2
October 11, 4:00 pmB1Team Whales
CTBC Flying Oyster1
DetonatioN FocusMe0
CTBC Flying Oyster2
Elimination MatchDecider Match
October 14, 7:00 pm
October 13, 7:00 pmCTBC Flying Oyster0
B2Team BDS
Team BDS2Team BDS2
DetonatioN FocusMe0

Qualifiers[edit]

  • Date and time: October 15, start time at 12:00 KST (UTC+9)
  • Upper bracket winner of one group faced the lower bracket winner of the other group.
  • Qualifiers were best-of-five.
  • Two winners of the qualifiers advanced to the swiss stage as Pool 4.[20]
Qualifying MatchesQualified
October 15, 12:00 pm
A1PSG Talon2
QTeam BDS
B2Team BDS3
October 15, 5:00 pm
B1Team Whales1
QGAM Esports
A2GAM Esports3

Swiss stage[edit]

  • Date and time: October 19–29, start time at 14:00 KST (UTC+9)
  • 16 teams play in Swiss-system format with five rounds.
    • In Round 1, Pool 1 teams will play against Pool 4 teams, and Pool 2 teams will play against Pool 3 teams. Teams from the same region do not play against each other.
    • From Round 2 onward, teams with the same record will play each other. Match up will be determined by draw after each round and teams from the same region can play each other.
    • Teams had matched each other in previous rounds will not matched again until last round (score 2–2).
  • Teams with three wins advance to knockout stage, while teams with three losses are eliminated.
  • All matches are best-of-one, excluding the advancement and elimination matches in round 3 along with the latter 4th and 5th round matches, which are best-of-three matches.
Bracket
Advance to knockouts
2–0JD Gaming
1–0G2 Esports0Gen.G
0–0Weibo Gaming0Gen.G2Advance to knockouts
T11G2 Esports1JD Gaming22–1LNG Esports
Team Liquid0Bilibili Gaming0LNG Esports1KT Rolster1NRG Esports
Cloud91JD Gaming1LNG Esports2T1
MAD Lions0LNG Esports11–1T12Advance to knockouts
Gen.G1Cloud90NRG Esports1Bilibili Gaming02–2KT Rolster
GAM Esports0Gen.G1MAD Lions0NRG Esports2KT Rolster2Weibo Gaming
Team BDS0T10T11G2 Esports0Dplus KIA0Bilibili Gaming
JD Gaming1Cloud90G2 Esports1
G2 Esports10–1KT Rolster11–2Bilibili Gaming2Eliminated
Dplus KIA0Team Liquid0Weibo Gaming0Cloud91Fnatic1Dplus KIA
Weibo Gaming1NRG Esports1Bilibili Gaming1Fnatic2Weibo Gaming2Fnatic
NRG Esports0Dplus KIA0Fnatic0Dplus KIA2G2 Esports
LNG Esports1KT Rolster1GAM Esports0Eliminated
Fnatic0Team BDS00–2Weibo Gaming2Cloud9
Bilibili Gaming1MAD Lions1Dplus KIA2MAD Lions0MAD Lions
KT Rolster0Fnatic1Team BDS0GAM Esports
GAM Esports0Team Liquid1Eliminated
GAM Esports2Team Liquid
Team BDS

Knockout stage[edit]

  • Date and time: November 2–19, all games start time at 17:00 KST (UTC+9)
  • Eight teams from group stage are drawn into a single-elimination bracket.
    • Two teams with a 3–0 record in the swiss stage are on opposite sides of the bracket and face those with a 3–2 record, while all remaining teams will be seeded randomly.
  • All matches are best-of-five.
  • The members of the winning team will lift the Summoner's Cup, earning their title as the League of Legends 2023 World Champions.

Qualified teams[edit]

Eight teams qualified for the playoff portion of the tournament from the swiss stage.

Group Team Region
Group A
(3–0) 		JD Gaming China
Gen.G South Korea
Group B
(3–1) 		LNG Esports China
NRG Esports North America
T1 South Korea
Group C
(3–2) 		KT Rolster South Korea
Weibo Gaming China
Bilibili Gaming China

Bracket[edit]

QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
November 2, 5:00 pm
B2NRG Esports0
November 11, 5:00 pm
C2Weibo Gaming3
Weibo Gaming3
November 3, 5:00 pm
Bilibili Gaming2
A2Gen.G2
November 19, 5:00 pm
C3Bilibili Gaming3
Weibo Gaming0
November 4, 5:00 pm
T13
A1JD Gaming3
November 12, 5:00 pm
C1KT Rolster1
JD Gaming1
November 5, 5:00 pm
T13
B1LNG Esports0
B3T13

Ranking[edit]

Team ranking[edit]

Place Team PG PQ SS QF SF Finals Prize (%) Prize (USD)
1st T1 – – 3–1 3–0 3–1 3–0 20% $445,000
2nd Weibo Gaming – – 3–2 3–0 3–2 0–3 15% $333,750
3rd–4th JD Gaming – – 3–0 3–1 1–3 8% $178,000
Bilibili Gaming – – 3–2 3–2 2–3
5th–8th Gen.G – – 3–0 2–3 4.5% $100,125
KT Rolster – – 3–2 1–3
NRG Esports – – 3–1 0–3
LNG Esports – – 3–1 0–3
9th–11th G2 Esports – – 2–3 3.25% $72,312.50
Fnatic – – 2–3
Dplus KIA – – 2–3
12th–14th Cloud9 – – 1–3 2.75% $61,187.50
MAD Lions – – 1–3
GAM Esports 2–1 3–1 1–3
15th–16th Team Liquid – – 0–3 2.25% $50,062.50
Team BDS 2–1 3–2 0–3
17th–18th PSG Talon 2–0 2–3 1.75% $38,937.50
Team Whales 2–0 1–3
19th–20th CTBC Flying Oyster 1–2 1.5% $33,375
LOUD 1–2
21st–22nd DetonatioN FocusMe 0–2 1% $22,250
Movistar R7 0–2
Place Team PG PQ SS QF SF Finals Prize (%) Prize (USD)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Korea's T1 win record fourth League of Legends world title". The Korea Times. Agence France-Presse. November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  2. ^ Nicholas Taifalos (July 10, 2023). "LoL Worlds 2023: Dates, location, tickets, and more". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  3. ^ "Worlds 2023 Primer". Riot Games Esports Media Center. September 14, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  4. ^ Shannon Liao (November 5, 2022). "DRX beats T1 to win 2022 League of Legends World Championship". Washington Post. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  5. ^ Mateusz Miter (August 25, 2023). "3-time LoL Worlds finalist fails to qualify for 2023 tournament after LCK Finals disappointment". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  6. ^ Paik Ji-hwan (August 28, 2023). "Dplus KIA, KT Rolster top LCK regionals to earn ticket to Worlds". Korea Joongang Daily. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  7. ^ Anna Bernardo (November 12, 2023). "League of Legends Worlds 2023: T1 defeat JDG 3–1 to face Weibo Gaming in the Grand Finals". Yahoo News. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  8. ^ Tom Daniels (September 27, 2023). "K-pop group NewJeans to perform League of Legends World Championship anthem". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  9. ^ Charisma Madarang (October 4, 2023). "NewJeans Immortalize 'League of Legends' With 'Gods' Championship Anthem". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  10. ^ Tom Daniels (October 23, 2023). "Riot Games unveils new League of Legends virtual music group HEARTSTEEL". Esports Insider. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  11. ^ Mary Yang; Paik Ji-hwan (November 19, 2023). "T1 take down Weibo Gaming 3–0 to win LoL Worlds in Korea". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  12. ^ "Korea's T1 win record fourth League of Legends world title". The Korea Times. November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  13. ^ Tom Daniels (November 20, 2023). "League of Legends World Championship 2023 breaks esports viewership record". Esports Insider. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  14. ^ Ethan Garcia (October 6, 2023). "Golden Guardians and Team BDS kick off LoL Worlds 2023 with inaugural NA vs. EU qualifying series". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  15. ^ Tyler Esguerra (September 14, 2023). "LoL Worlds 2023: How does the Swiss-style format work?". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  16. ^ David Jang (September 10, 2023). "All teams qualified for Worlds 2023". Inven Global. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  17. ^ "Announcing Worlds 2023 Venues, Dates, and Ticket Sales". Riot Games Esports Media Center. April 22, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  18. ^ Lee Si-jin (October 1, 2023). "2023 LoL World Championship to entertain esports fans". Korea Herald. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  19. ^ Cecilia Ciocchetti (October 9, 2023). "Good morning Europe: BDS squeeze in as last LoL Worlds team after crushing NA hopes". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  20. ^ David Jang (September 10, 2023). "Play-in Brackets for Worlds 2023 Fixed". Inven Global. Retrieved October 2, 2023.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2023 League of Legends World Championship.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ When a team wins all four major League of Legends titles in a single season (Spring and Summer domestic titles, Mid-Season Invitational and the World Championship).
  2. ^ Including the Worlds Qualifying Series
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