On Nov. 26, KeSPA [Korea e-Sports Association] announced that the 2021 LoL KeSPA Cup ULSAN will be held from Dec 10 to 12, over the span of three days and as an offline event. This year’s tournament is co-hosted by KeSPA and the city of Ulsan, and will be the first year as a global tournament that will have other Asian teams participating in the tournament. It'll also be the first year that'll mark the absence of all the LCK teams.
There are 16 teams participating in the tournament this year. From the LCK CL, Nongshim RedForce, DWG KIA, Liiv SANDBOX, Afreeca Freecs, Gen.G, Fredit BRION, Hanwha Life Esports, DRX and KT Rolster will be participating. Three teams from the LCK Academy series, which includes the winner and the runner-up of the LCK Academy Series 2021 2nd Championship, as well as four other teams from different parts of Asia will be playing in the KeSPA Cup this year.
As a 16-team tournament, the round of 16 and the quarterfinals will be in a best-of-three format, while later knockout stages will be in a best-of-five format. Round of 16 & quarterfinals will be held on Dec 10, semifinals on Dec 11, and the grand finals on Dec 12.
KeSPA Cup is in association with Ulsan city for its third consecutive year, and this year will mark the return to offline matches in two years. Teams residing in Korea will be playing in Ulsan for the tournament, while the four overseas teams will be participating online.
