▲ Source: lolesports flickr



On November 1st 5 pm (KST), Riot Games announced the locations for 2019, 2020, and 2021 League of Legends World Championships.





The location for Worlds 2019: Europe.



While other details are still up in the air, what is confirmed is that Worlds 2019 will be held in Paris, France.

▲ Source: lolesports flickr



Riot explained, "Next year, Worlds will return to Europe, four years after the last Europe-based Worlds concluded in Berlin, Germany. While information on stage-by-stage host cities and other details are forthcoming, the 2019 World Championship Finals will take place in the City of Lights: Paris, France at the AccorHotels Arena."





The location for Worlds 2020: China.



Following the viewership success from Worlds 2017, Riot recognizes the Chinese region as a big part of their player and fan base. In order to grow the League of Legends community further, Riot has decided to have China as their host for Worlds 2020.

▲ Source: lolesports flickr



Riot clarified on choosing China, "During the 2017 World Championship in China, we reached new viewership milestones rivaling those of major traditional sporting events. More than 80 million viewers tuned in for Semifinals, and a crowd of over 40,000 fans packed a sold-out Beijing National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) at Finals. We hope to follow that success at Worlds 2020, which will be a banner year for League of Legends esports as we bring our 10th World Championship to one of our largest and most passionate fan bases."





The location for Worlds 2021: North America.



North America has hosted 3 World Championships, and 2021 will be the year it will come back to where it all started.



"North America has played host to three of our past eight World Championships. As the North American LCS continues to grow and develop alongside team partners, we’re excited to return to the region in 2021. For fans living outside of these regions, we look forward to sharing news regarding some of the new countries that we’ll be visiting with global events—such as the Mid-Season Invitational and the All-Star Event—in the future!"



Riot shared the reasoning for their early announcements: "We want to ensure that our event experiences are among the best in sports. By creating more lead time for our major global event planning cycles, we will provide fans, players, teams, and partners with more time to plan ahead as well. We believe that this an important step that will help unlock more value for everyone that participates in our events around the world. Our 2019–2021 roadmap sees us returning to the homes of several of our most competitive leagues."