LoL esports is raising the stakes this season by having the top teams in the world fight for more regional representatives on the World stage
The 2024 season is finally kicking off. Alongside big ranked changes coming to League of Legends’ competitive game mode are big shifts to the champion meta, as well as exciting format changes to the Riot MOBA’s big-ticket esports events.
Here we’re breaking down the big “State of the Game” update that was just announced on the official LoL Esports website, highlighting the biggest format changes that are going to rock the international stage throughout the year.
New Base Slots for Regional Teams
This year, Riot is shaking things up by limiting the LCK, LPL, LEC & LCS to 3 Worlds slots (originally 4 slots for Korean and Chinese rosters) at the start of the competitive season. PCS and VCS will get 2 slots, and the LLA and CBLOL will retain the 1 spot they’ve always had.
According to the blog post, this change was meant to motivate the best teams in the world to push their limits in the coming months leading up to MSI and the World Championship, both of which will be closely tied together due to what is arguably the biggest change LoL Esports has ever introduced.
LoL Esports Guarantees Worlds 2024 Spot for MSI Winners
For the first time in 13 years, the team that places first at the 2024 Mid-Season Invitationals will automatically qualify for Worlds this season.
This is huge news. Winning both the preamble to Worlds 2024 with a secured spot is obviously a huge accomplishment, which also counts as an extra slot for that region. This small but effective adjustment places way more weight on the mid-year derby than ever before. At the same time, the runner-up will also get an extra seed for the World Championship, nabbing an additional slot for their region.
The LoL Esports org essentially took one slot out of the LCK and the LPL and put it up for grabs to up the stakes this year. Obviously, this will help even the odds between the world’s best-performing divisions and the rest of the Worlds-qualifying regions, but only time will tell if it’ll be enough to balance the scales. That, and stop T1’s comeback season.
The State of the Game: LoL Esports in 2024
LoL Esports kicks off the new year with competitive changes, event updates, and more:
📰 https://t.co/G4I3RJeDpv pic.twitter.com/eO3oyS12G0
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) January 4, 2024
MSI and Worlds 2024 Start Dates Confirmed
Apart from the big structural changes, the LoL Esports blog continued to confirm the venues and start dates for their upcoming events.
As confirmed by the official blog, the 2024 Mid-Season Invitationals will take place in Chengdu, China and will run from May 1-19. Information on event schedule and ticket prices weren’t revealed, but was promised for the days to come.
The “State of the Game” update also confirmed the start date for Worlds 2024, which will run from September 25 – November 2, 2024. Additionally, venue and city names for each of the championship stages were dropped!
- Riot Games Arena, Berlin (Worlds 2024 Play-Ins)
- Adidas Arena, Paris (Worlds 2024 Quarterfinals and Semifinals)
- O2 Arena, London (Worlds 2024 Finals)
LoL Esports “Hall of Legends” Announced
We’re getting a hall of fame for LoL Esports pros!
To make the year even more special, Riot is introducing its very own “Hall of Legends” to celebrate the most tenacious pros that have left their mark on the LoL esports stage. At the moment, an official voting panel is already in the process of selecting the very first inductee, but more news should follow in the coming weeks!
As the weeks go by, we’ll be covering the beginnings of the 2024 season with LoL esports match previews, roster changes and predictions in the lead-up to MSI and Worlds 2024. Keep posted with the latest developments on our League of Legends page.
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