The 2021 League of Legends World Championship will be held in Europe instead of China, according to a report by Upcomer.
Originally reported by Upcomer and confirmed by Dot Esports, issues apparently cropped up for Riot Games when the team ran into difficulties securing travel for its production crews to China. Additionally, LCS teams were still reportedly working to secure visas to enter China as of this past Friday, Aug. 20. The decision to change the host country was reportedly made very recently, though.
This year, the World Championship was supposed to held in multiple cities across China, which would have included Shanghai, Qingdao, Wuhan, Chengdu, and Shenzhen for different stages of the tournament. This would have also been the second year in a row that Worlds was held in China, with the event having no live audience in 2020—except for the grand finals, which had limited fans in attendance.
The last time Riot held an event in Europe was during the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational when the tournament took place in Reykjavík, Iceland. For Worlds, however, the event was last held in Europe in 2019, with various stages hosted in Germany, Spain, and France. With only one month left until the presumed start of the tournament, it’s unclear which venues can be locked in that can accommodate such a large number of players and staff.
It’s also unknown if live audiences will be allowed at Worlds if it’s moved to Europe. The LEC was forced to keep its teams at the Berlin studio for the entirety of the playoffs this season, even though the league is “constantly assessing the local regulations” of the city.
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