We previously knew that the grand finals were coming to Shenzhen, China, but four more cities have now been announced.
Riot Games have revealed the five cities that will play host to the League of Legends' Worlds 2021 later this year. Shanghai, Qingdao, Wuhan, Chengdu and Shenzhen will all host games for one of the biggest esports events of the year.
Shenzhen will be the host city for the grand finals, Riot announced back in May. The Universiade Sports Centre, home to top-flight Chinese football club Shenzhen F.C., will be the venue for the big game.
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Despite China holding 2020's event, Worlds events have always hit the road
Riot have always done their best to bring the event live to as many fans as possible. World Championships have always been held throughout many cities in the host region. For instance, Berlin, Madrid, and Paris all played host to stages of Worlds 2019. Busan, Gwangju, and Incheon all held sections of Worlds 2018. Though Worlds 2020 was held in China, it was in a studio in Shanghai, with no opportunities for fans except for the grand finals. As such, while North America was originally slated to hold Worlds 2021, it was pushed back to allow the event to travel throughout China this year.
With the announced host cities, the event will be taking place all over the mainland. Shenzhen in the south will host the grand finals. Shanghai and Qingdao allow fans on the east coast easier access, with the latter further north. Wuhan and Chengdu, meanwhile, are both relatively central, but still thousands of miles from each other.
The COVID-19 situation in China has improved massively since things began in November 2019, and has slowly been improving even over the last year. Western audiences may have a poor view of Wuhan, one of the host cities, for instance, but the situation is nothing like what it once was.
In regional LoL standings, TSM have started off well in North America. While it's early, they're already leading the chase for Worlds 2021 spots in that region. In Europe, records reset, but MAD Lions, Rogue, and G2 Esports all look good on paper for an appearance.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest League of Legends news.