League of Legends 2020 World of Championship (Worlds 2020) will kick off on September 25 in Shanghai, China. Worlds 2020 marks the tenth iteration of the annual international League of Legends tournament.

This year, Worlds will feature 22 teams from across the globe down from the traditional 24. This comes after the Vietnamese Championship Series (VCS) teams announced that they will be unable to compete due to the global pandemic. The 22 teams will look to have the honor of raising the Summoner’s Cup and be crowned League of Legends World Champions.

Despite this, this will be the first year for the Southeast Asian Pacific Championship Series (PCS) will compete at Worlds as well as fourth seeds for the Chinese League of Legends Pro League (LPL) and the European League of Legends European Championship (LEC).

The 22 teams are as follows:

China – LPL

• Top Esports
• JD Gaming
• Suning
• LGD Gaming

Europe – LEC

• G2 Esports
• Fnatic
• Rogue
• MAD Lions

Korea – LCK (League of Legends Champions Korea)

• DAMWON Gaming
• DRX
• Gen.G

North America – LCS (League of Legends Championship Series)

• TSM
• FlyQuest
• Team Liquid

Southeast Asia – PCS

• Machi Esports
• PSG.Talon Esports

Brazil – CBLOL (Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends)

• INTZ

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) – LCL (League of Legends Continental League)

• Unicorns of Love

Japan – LJL (League of Legends Japan League)

• V3 Esports

Latin America – LLA (Liga Latinoamérica)

• Rainbow7

Oceania – OPL (Oceanic Pro League)

• Legacy Esports

Turkey – TCL (Turkish Championship League)

• Papara SuperMassive

The VCS teams, despite not attending, will be awarded their full share of the Worlds prize pool as if they had competed in the event.

The tournament is divided into three stages – the Play-In Stage, the Group Stage, and the Knockout Stage.

The Play-In Stage runs from September 25 – 30. The initial stage will feature the teams from Brazil, CIS, Japan, Latin America, Oceania, Turkey, in addition to the second seed from Southeast Asia, the third seed from North America, and the fourth seeds from China and Europe.

The 10 teams are divided into two groups for the Group Stage and will play in a best-of-one single round-robin. The top team per group earn a spot in the Group Stage while the third and fourth team will face off to compete against the second team to earn the final third and fourth teams.

The Group Stage will feature 16 teams and are drawn into four groups. This stage features a best-of-one double round-robin format with the top two teams continuing into the Knockout Stage.

The Knockout Stage is the culmination of the tournament as the top eight teams will fight in a best-of-five single-elimination bracket. At the end of the Knockout Stage, a champion will be crowned.