The decision is final. Riot Games has decided that Worlds 2021 will move from China to Europe, after considering the development of the COVID-19 situation. In a quick update with John Needham, Global Head of Esports for Riot Games, the Worlds 2021 main event and finals will take place in Europe with no finals venue set.
During the update, Needham says:
“We figured 2020 would be the hardest Worlds we’d ever produce. With vaccines being distributed worldwide this year we anticipated a return to some sort of normal in 2021. Well. unfortunately, this hasn’t been the case.”
He goes on to announce the Worlds 2021 move from China to Europe:
“With the Delta variant, travel restrictions and Covid, protocols have been even more complicated to navigate in 2021 than they were in 2020. Sadly, we’ve reached the point where it’s extremely difficult to guarantee that qualifying teams and their best players would be able to attend Worlds this year. As a result, we’ve made the tough decision to pivot Worlds from China to Europe.”
Originally, the Worlds 2021 would be taking place in Shenzen, China, and more specifically, inside the Universiade Sports Centre. The stadium itself has a capacity of 60,334 viewers which would be perfect for an event of that calibre.
Although we still don’t know in which country and venue the Worlds 2021 finals will take place, it’s a memorable time for the event to come back to Europe. The 2019 finals in France was one of the most memorable experiences in the era of League of Legends. After the downgrade in last year’s performance, we can expect nothing more than the perfect AR experience. That is, of course, if Riot Games decides to host a real final event. Let’s hope that it won’t be the other way around.
In addition, let’s not forget that some of the biggest stars will be attending Worlds this year. SKT T1, DAMWON, Fnatic and more will be joining the event, so we can expect nothing less than awesomeness.
We’ll be back with more news about the country and venue the Worlds 2021 will take place in Europe. Until then, stay tuned to The Rift Crown for more esports news in the world of League of Legends.