League of Legends: 2022 World Championship to be held in four cities, Riot announces
Riot Games has officially confirmed that the 2022 League of Legends World Championship will take place in four cities across North America.
Riot also describes this Worlds 2022 event as “a robust continental tour”, marking the return of Worlds to North America. It is a highly-anticipated announcement for NA League fans considering the region last hosted a World Championship back in 2016.
“We’re thrilled to bring the full scale of our global sport back to North America, and COVID permitting, welcome fans into the stands across three countries and four different cities,” Global League Esports head Naz Aletaha said.
“Worlds is the showcase of the greatest of our sport, and we look forward to celebrating that with our fans in North America and across the world.”
The announcement was made at a press conference at Chase Center before the Golden State Warriors versus Toronto Raptors NBA game featuring teams from the semifinal city (Toronto) and final city (San Francisco).
The final two venues are the Scotiabank Arena, the home stadium of the Toronto Raptors, and Chase Center, home of the six-time NBA Champion Golden State Warriors.
“The momentum behind League of Legends Esports has only continued to grow since the last time we hosted Worlds in the U.S. in 2016. We’re thrilled to bring the full scale of our global sport back to North America, and, COVID permitting, welcome fans into the stands across three countries and four different cities,” Aletaha added.
Reactions
Isaac “Azael” Cummings-Bentley, a Canadian LoL analyst and broadcaster, shared his thoughts on Scotiabank Arena being chosen as one of the 2022 World Championship host cities.
“The World Championship is the best teams from everywhere around the world, so, you’re just kind of getting a higher level of competition,” Cummings-Bentley told Sportsnet in a recent interview.
“It’s the champions, the top teams from every league around the world. It’s China, it’s Korea, it’s Europe, it’s North America. There’s teams from all kinds of different regions – from Brazil, from Japan. So it’s the elite of the elite.”
Cummings-Bentley, who came from a large sports background growing up in Kingston, Ontario, is also a pro gamer himself in the game World of Warcraft.
“I think that a lot of the things that you love about sports are true in esports as well,” Cummings-Bentley added. “Why would someone go watch basketball when you can just play basketball yourself? Well, you’re doing it because it’s at this incredible level of competition and you’re seeing these people who have perfected their craft.”
In addition, the senior vice president, music and live events at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd, Melissa Bubb-Clarke, applauded Riot’s decision to bring one of the most-watched esports events to Canada.
“We look forward to welcoming League Of Legends once again, this time for their 2022 Worlds Championship at Scotiabank Arena,” Bubb-Clarke said in a statement.
“The esports community is growing exponentially in Canada and our fans will be excited to have the opportunity to attend and watch the best of the best of LoL.”
Schedule
The Worlds 2022 event will host different stages of the tournament in these four cities. The dates are yet to be announced.
• Play-ins, LoL Esports’ Liga Latinoamerica competition arena, Mexico City
• Groups and quarter-finals, Madison Square Garden, New York City
• Semifinals, Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
• Finals, Chase Center, San Francisco
The 2022 League of Legends competitive season is scheduled to begin earlier next year, with North America’s LCS and Europe’s LEC both kicking off on January 14.
