Worlds 2020: Where and When?
This year, the entire competition will take place in Shanghai, with players and staff operating within a special bubble due to the current global pandemic.
All matches will take place at the Shanghai Media Tech Studio — with the exception of the Grand Final, which will be played (behind closed doors) at the brand new Pudong Football Stadium.
- Play-In Stage: September 25-30
- Group Stage: October 3-6 and October 8-11
- Quarter-Finals: October 15-18
- Semi-Finals: October 24-25
- Grand Final: October 31
Format
Play-In Group Stage: Round 1
- Two groups of five teams each
- Single round robin format
- Matches are best-of-one
- The top two teams from each group qualify for the Main Event
- Teams that finished second to fourth qualify for Round 2
Play-In Knockout Stage: Round 2
- Teams that finished third in their group play against teams that finished fourth in the same group
- The winners of these matches face the team that finished second in the opposite group
- The two winning teams qualify for the main event
- Matches are best-of-five
Main Event: Group Stage
- Sixteen teams divided into four groups
- Double round robin format
- Matches are best-of-one
- The top two teams advance to the Knockout Stage
Main Event: Knockout Stage
- Single-elimination bracket
- The first-placed team from a group faces the second-placed team from another group
- Two teams from the same group cannot be placed on the same side of the bracket
- Match-ups are determined by an on-site draw
- Matches are best-of-five
Prize Pool
While the specific prize pool amount for Worlds 2020 has not yet been revealed, Riot Games have revealed the distribution of the pool according to the final ranking.
The distribution of the prize pool between the different teams participating in the World Championship has been changed this year.
“One of the most exciting prizes in esports is having your accomplishment enshrined in game with the World Champion Skins, themed in consultation with the members of the winning team. The players and team also receive 25% of the sales of these skins," Riot have said.
"Over the past few years, these skins have performed better and better, leading to a much larger gap in prizing between first and second place.
"To create a more equitable structure, the first-place prize will be reduced and allocated to the other finishers to better distribute the Worlds prize pool to the remaining competitors, who do not benefit from the sale of the Worlds skins.
"We’ve slightly modified the intended new structure to account for the VCS teams who are unable to attend; we will be paying out more than 100% of the prize pool this year."
The best League of Legends teams have now qualified for Worlds 2020. Here's who'll be in attendance at Riot's showpiece event in Shanghai, and how the tournament will play out.
