This is the third time China will be hosting League of Legends' world championship tournament.
Riot Games has confirmed that the League of Legends (LoL) World Championship 2025 will take place in China. This announcement was notably made with little fanfare on Friday, 25 October, during the launch event for the OPPO Find X8 series in Chengdu, along with news of a sponsorship extension between Riot Games and OPPO.
"For the past five years, OPPO has been there for some of the biggest moments in LoL Esports history. In sharing the news of their continued global partnership with LoL Esports as part of the OPPO Find X8 series launch event in Chengdu, OPPO was alongside Riot Games for another major milestone, revealing China as the home of Worlds 2025!" Riot announced.
OPPO has been a major partner for Riot’s global League of Legends events since 2019. With this extension, OPPO will continue as the global presenting partner for the MVP awards at both the Mid-Season Invitational and Worlds.
China to host Worlds for the third time
Worlds 2025 will mark the third time China has hosted LoL's premier event. Fans have been excited about this, especially given the success of previous runs.
In 2017, the tournament was held across four major cities — Wuhan, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing — with the grand final taking place at the famous Bird’s Nest stadium.
The 2020 edition, hosted in Shanghai, was a more low-key affair due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, MSI 2024 was held in Chengdu, China at the Wuliangye Chengdu Performing Arts Center.
While the specific cities for Worlds 2025 haven’t been announced yet, fans can expect another spectacular event in one of LoL’s biggest regions.
Meanwhile, Worlds 2024 is currently underway in Europe. The semi-finals will be held in Paris on 26-27 October, and the Grand Finals at London’s O2 Arena on 2 November. American rock band Linkin Park, who sang this year’s anthem “Heavy is the Crown,” are expected to perform at the Grand Finals of World 2024.