League of Legends World Championship – LoL Worlds

League of Legends Champions and World Championship Logo

When talking about the most prestigious and lucrative esports events, the
first two that come to mind are League of Legends World Championship (AKA LoL Worlds) and Dota
2 The International
. Despite the latter having much higher prize pools, League
of Legends still bears more weight in the grand scheme of things.

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LoL Worlds is a much more popular competition, and the numbers are showing us
exactly that. With more than 78,000,000 total views on Twitch.tv and over
46,000,000 average concurrent viewership, LoL Worlds 2018 ranks much better than
The International 2018. To put things into perspective, TI8 had close to
67,000,000 total views on Twitch.tv and roughly 4,000,000 average concurrent
viewership.

So, with that part explained, we are sure you now realize the importance (and
weight) of LoL Worlds as far as the entire esports competitive scene is
concerned. The teams competing, the fans watching, the players playing and the
commentators, well, commentating; it all brings forth a mesmerizing experience
for everyone involved. And that includes the bettors, which is something we will
go through in the next segment where we will tell you more on where to bet on
LoL Worlds Tournaments!

Betting on LoL Worlds Tournaments

Soul Stealer Vayne

With such huge popularity, it doesn’t take a genius to conclude that Lol
Worlds is one of the most popular esports tournaments to bet on. Even people who
don’t normally watch League of Legends opt for betting on this tournament’s most
important matches. It always struck us by surprise, but that’s just how things
are.

While talking about esports betting, it would be a crime not to mention what
a beginner’s trap it can be. Esports betting is a difficult thing on its own,
even for regular bettors. Choosing the right bookie, switching from bookie to
bookie, comparing esports markets, choosing the best odds, and making test
tickets to see which bookie gives the most profit – things can get confusing
pretty quickly.

If you opt for one of the above-listed bookies, you can rest assured you’ll
be betting on LoL Worlds at one of the best online locations. Each of our
choices features a plethora of betting markets, great variety of specials, and
high odds. What more could you wish for, right?

Key Facts:

  • A total of 8 League of Legends World Championship tournaments have been
    played thus far.
  • LoL Worlds tournaments are the pinnacle of each LoL competitive season.
  • 2018 season stopped the dominance of South Korean winners dating back to
    2012.
  • These tournaments are always hosted in different cities in various
    regions.

A Brief History of LoL Worlds Tournaments

As some of you already know – LoL Worlds are as old as the LoL esports
community itself. It was the first glamorous LoL tournament that amazed the
entire world. Not only that; it’s arguable that LoL Worlds is the tournament
that started a rapid growth of the esports industry. So, with all that in mind,
let us give you a quick look at the history of this marvelous competition.

The first iteration, of what we call LoL Words nowadays, was called LoL World
Championship Season 1, and it marked the end of the 1st competitive
season of League of Legends. With close to $100,000 in prize pool money, eight
highly-skilled teams, and plenty of fans watching the action via Own3d.tv
livestream (yup, Own3d.tv was still a thing back then), the stage was set for a
spectacle.

Now, looking back on such humble beginnings makes us realize what a
sensational growth the esports industry experienced over the last six to seven
years. Years went on and as the industry grew, so did LoL World Championship
tournaments alongside it. S2 LoL Worlds prize pool money reached new heights at
$2,000,000. That’s roughly the amount on which the prize pools stayed up until
2016.

League of Legends Tournament Venue

As far as the number of competing teams went, the numbers were changing with
each passing year. What started as an 8-team tournament is now a 24-team marvel
with several tournament stages needed to sort them all out. More on that later
on in the Tournament Format section.

Previous Winners

Here’s a quick look at all previous LoL Worlds winners and runners-up, as
well as their regions/countries:

Tournament Champions Runners-up
LoL Worlds 2011 Fnatic (EU) Against All authority (EU)
LoL Worlds 2012 Taipei Assassins (Taiwan) Azubu Frost (South Korea)
LoL Worlds 2013 SKT1 (South Korea) Royal Club (China)
LoL Worlds 2014 Samsung Galaxy White (South Korea) Star Horn Royal Club (China)
LoL Worlds 2015 SKT1 (South Korea) KOO Tigers (South Korea)
LoL Worlds 2016 SKT1 (South Korea) Samsung Galaxy (South Korea)
LoL Worlds 2017 Samsung Galaxy (South Korea) SKT1 (South Korea)
LoL Worlds 2018 Invictus Gaming (China) Fnatic (EU)

As you can see, the dominance of South Korean teams has finally been stopped.
The last iteration of LoL Worlds (2018 edition) was, by far, the worst
tournament for South Korean teams. All of their teams didn’t make it far into
the tournament. Their last hopes were dead right after the quarterfinals with
all of their teams dropping out with a proper splash. Worst of all – it all
happened in front of their own fans.

Need we remind you that we are talking about the most dominant region in
League of Legends for quite a while now! If we don’t count the inaugural season,
at least one South Korean team was participating in the grand finals match in
every LoL Worlds tournament thus far. 2015, 2016, and 2017 LoL Worlds Grand
Finals were exclusive to South Korean teams.

Tournament Format

Like we already said above, what started out as a simple eight-team
tournament turned into a 24-team gaming festival. And the matter is pretty
complicated to explain, especially to people who aren’t that used to this whole
esports thing. Still, we’ll try our best by dividing the topic into tournament
stages. So, without hesitation, let’s dig right into it!

LoL Worlds Qualifications

24 teams will find their way into this tournament. Half of them will have to
battle their way through the play-in stage while the other half will go straight
through to the group stage. This depends on the teams’ regions. Generally,
winning teams from the strongest regions advance to the group stage while weaker
regions’ teams are selected for the play-in stage.

Zed From League of Legends

In addition to region winners (1st seeds), which brings a total of 14 teams
to the tournament (eight for play-in and six for the group stage), 10 additional
teams are qualified through Championship point seeds and Regional Finals. The
five teams with the highest Championship Points in the current season qualify
straight to the group stage. Last but not least, LCK (South Korea) Regional
Finals winners qualify for the group stage while the other four Regional Finals
winners will have to battle their way through the play-in stage.

Play-In Stage

Play-in Stage consists of two rounds. The first play-in round consists of 12
teams divided into four groups in which they play best of one matches in a
Double Round Robin format. At the end of all matches, the bottom team in each
group is eliminated while the top two teams advance to the second play-in round.

The second play-in round puts first-placed teams against second-placed teams.
At this point, the stakes were as high as the state of Colorado in January 2014,
so these matches are played as a best of five series. Why is that so? Well, the
winners advance to the LoL Worlds Group Stage while losers pack their things to
catch the first flight back home.

Group Stage

Four teams which have qualified via the Play-In Stage now join the 12 teams
which have automatically qualified earlier. All 16 teams are divided into four
groups where they’ll play a double round robin format to earn their spot in the
playoffs. All Group Stage matches are played in a best of one series with the
top two teams from each group advancing to the playoffs.

Playoffs

Now we are approaching the business end of the competition. We are left with
just eight teams which are competing in a single elimination bracket. At this
point, all matches are played as a best of five series to further up the stakes.
Remember, the winners walk out not just with the title and the trophy but with
roughly 50% of the total prize pool which usually amounts to more than
$2,000,000.

LoL Worlds Tournaments | FAQ

How Many People Watch the Lol Worlds at One Time?

This is yet another one of those records that the last iteration of League of
Legends World Championship (LoL Worlds 2018) managed to break. Believe it or
not, the grand finals match between Fnatic and Invictus Gaming was watched by
more than 200,000,000 people at once.

However, it needs to be said that the grand finals match was set perfectly
for breaking this particular record. A European team (motivating western fans)
went up against a Chinese team, which is a good start on its own. But combine
that with the fact that there were three South Korean players on Team Invictus.
These might seem like irrelevant things, but trust us, all of them participated
in breaking the 200,000,000-viewership peak.

Is Betting on LoL Worlds Risky?

In all honesty, betting on the finals of all big esports events brings forth
an extra dose of risk. The games are tense, the teams are brilliant, and if
everyone’s on their A-game, matches will be neck and neck all across the board.
On the bright side, esports bookies often increase the odds by decreasing their
profit margins during the biggest esports events such as this one. At the end of
the day, we’d say the increase is definitely worth that extra bit of risk!

What Are the Best Specials for LoL Worlds Betting?

Needless to say, all major esports bookies offer special bets during LoL
Worlds. Well, not just LoL Worlds, but all other top-tier esports tournaments as
well. However, in the sea of specials, people (beginners especially) tend to get
confused, and it becomes difficult for them to make sense out of all that mess.
So, to save you from the trouble, we’ve created a short list featuring five of
our favorite LoL Worlds special bets! So, without any further ado, let’s check
them out:

  • Outright Winner
  • The Region of the Winner
  • Total Kills Over/Under
  • Total Baron/Dragons Slain Over/Under
  • Team to Draw First Blood

For more information on this topic (such as the explanations of the
above-listed specials), make sure you check our League of Legends
Betting
article!

Where Can I Find More Beginner-Friendly Advice for Esports Betting?

If you are looking for more concrete advice that could help you nail down
your esports bets, we got you covered! Take a look at our Esports
Betting Guide
! It’s an extensive piece focusing on beginners and
carefully explaining everything you need to know before placing your first
esports bet. It will take you some time to finish it, so you better get up and
get yourself a cup of coffee or a nice warm tea.

Where to Watch LoL Worlds Tournaments?

Just like every other esports tournament, LoL Worlds have great coverage on
various online streaming services such as Twitch.tv and YouTube Gaming. You
can’t go wrong with either of these two.

Conclusion

At the end of it all, we can safely conclude that LoL Worlds tournaments are
the finest ones out of the bunch. Yes, there are more lucrative tournaments out
there such as the prestigious Dota 2 International, but as far as raw popularity
is concerned, nothing comes even remotely close to LoL Worlds.

With that being said, it’s no surprise that where to bet on LoL Worlds
tournaments is among the most popular questions we get these days. Hopefully,
this article explained everything you wanted to know about them and then some.
Finally, thank you all for reading, and make sure you come again for a fresh
dose of handy esports info!