Riot Games Global Head of Esports John Needham revealed important news about the League of Legends World Championship 2021, commonly known as Worlds, today, moving the League of Legends esports event from China to Europe.
In a report, Upcomer revealed Riot’s difficulties regarding travel restrictions. It was mainly related to securing entry in China for its production crew. However, the issue escalated and many teams encountered problems securing visas too. To ensure a successful event, Riot Games will change continents and move the tournament to Europe.
LoL Worlds 2021
The League of Legends World Championship is one of the biggest esports attractions of the year. Riot Games puts an insane amount of effort into guaranteeing fair competition. But with travels restrictions becoming more complicated, it was not possible for everyone to attend Worlds 2021 in their best state. Of course, Chinese fans will be disappointed to see the event going abroad.
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While each case is different, even missing a single player can drastically impact a team’s overall performance. Sometimes, entire teams would not be able to attend. Riot surely felt like organizing an event under these conditions would not be the same. Going from China to Europe seemed like a good compromise for Worlds 2021 although details aren’t out yet.
League of Legends Back to Europe
Worlds 2020 broke viewership records while still managing to avoid COVID-19 infections. John Needham mentioned that Riot Games did not yet decide on a specific location. Though countries and cities with flexible travel restrictions will probably be high-profile targets. Many teams are already giving their all to get the decisive home advantage.
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There are no rules as to how event organizers deal with this situation. For example, Ubisoft decided not to replace the Pittsburgh Knights in the recent Six Mexico Major and simply went for a 15-team tournament. Riot Games went the other way, privileging the experience and sacrificing the hard work they had already put in to Worlds 2021.
With only a month before the League of Legends World Championship 2021, Riot will remain busy doing last-minute planning.
Written by Charles Fuster
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