2023 League of Legends World Championship facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
League of Legends
World Championship

2023
Tournament information
Sport	League of Legends
Location	South Korea
Dates	October 10–November 19
Administrator(s)	Riot Games
Tournament format(s)	8 team GSL-style double-elimination bracket play-in stage 16 team swiss stage 8 team single-elimination bracket from quarterfinals onwards
Venue(s)	4 (in 2 host cities) Seoul (play-ins, swiss stage, final) Busan (quarterfinals, semifinals)
Teams	22
Final positions
Champion	T1
Runner-up	Weibo Gaming
Tournament statistics
Attendance	18,000 (Finals)
MVP	Choi "Zeus" Woo-je (T1)
← 2022 2024 →

The 2023 League of Legends World Championship was a big competition for the video game League of Legends. This game is a type of MOBA, where two teams fight each other. This was the 13th time this yearly tournament happened. Riot Games, the company that made the game, organizes it.

The competition took place in South Korea. It started on October 10 and ended on November 19. Twenty-two teams from nine different parts of the world joined. They earned their spots by doing well in their local competitions. The team that won last year, DRX, did not qualify this time. Another team, JD Gaming, was hoping to achieve a special "Golden Road" win. This means winning all major tournaments in one year. However, they lost to T1 in the semifinals. T1 later became the champions.

The official song for the tournament was "Gods" by the group NewJeans. Riot Games also introduced a virtual boyband called "Heartsteel." Real-life singers like Baekhyun from EXO and SuperM, ØZI, Tobi Lou, and Cal Scruby performed their song "Paranoia."

The final match happened on November 19, 2023. It was held at the Gocheok Sky Dome. T1 beat Weibo Gaming with a score of 3–0. This win gave T1 their fourth World Championship title, which is a new record. The final match was watched by over 6.4 million people at the same time. This set a new record for the most viewers ever for an esports event.

How the Tournament Changed

The way teams qualified for Worlds changed in 2023. Some regions, like CIS, Turkey, and Oceania, no longer sent teams directly. This was because their leagues were either stopped or combined with other leagues.

The total number of teams was also a bit smaller. It went from 24 teams in 2022 to 22 teams in 2023. Some top teams from Asia-Pacific and Vietnam started in an earlier stage called the "Play-in stage." Meanwhile, some strong teams from South Korea, China, Europe, and North America got to start directly in the main event.

Before the main tournament, there was a special match. It was between the fourth-place teams from Europe and North America. This match decided the very last team to join the Play-in stage.

The Play-in stage changed to a "double-elimination" style. This means teams had to lose twice to be out of the tournament. The first part of the main event also changed. It moved from a "round-robin" (where everyone plays everyone) to a "Swiss format." In a Swiss format, teams play against others with similar win-loss records.

Teams That Qualified

Here are the teams that earned a spot in the 2023 World Championship:

Where the Games Were Played

The 2023 World Championship was held in two cities in South Korea: Seoul and Busan.

The Swiss Stage was played at KBS Arena. This picture shows the match between T1 and BLG.

South Korea
Seoul		Busan	Seoul
Play-in Stage	Swiss Stage	Quarterfinals & Semifinals	Finals
LoL Park	KBS Arena	Sajik Indoor Gymnasium	Gocheok Sky Dome
Capacity: 450	Capacity: 1,824	Capacity: 14,099	Capacity: 16,744

Final Team Rankings

Here's how the teams finished in the tournament. The first-place team won the most prize money.