Worlds 2021 Regional Rankings are here. 11 regions have sent their best teams to see if they can reach the pinnacle of League of Legends and a hierarchy has already formed in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Is your region doing better than expected?
Are South Korea or China on their way to another world championship?
Is Western League of Legends as a whole cratering?
Here are the official Worlds 2021 regional rankings for each of the regions competing at the world championship.Â
Main event records come first, with the region’s overall record (play-ins, groups, knockouts) in parenthesis. This page will be updated as the tournament continues in Iceland. Last updated: Oct. 17.
1. South Korea: 38-21 (44-22)Â Â
What a group stage performance by the LCK. Not only did all four of their representatives make it to the knockout rounds, but three of their squads locked up a No. 1 seed. DWG KIA, T1, and Hanwha Life Esports will populate the bottom-side of the bracket while hoping Gen.G can make it through to complete an all-South Korean final. Unless DWG KIA implode against Europe’s MAD Lions, South Korea should lock up the best regional record.
In the quarterfinals, South Korea continued its control of the tournament. T1 eliminated HLE in a 3-0 sweep, DWG KIA did the same to Europe’s MAD Lions and Gen.G put to sleep Western League of Legends by rolling through Cloud9 in another one-sided sweep.
2. China: 25-22 (29-22)Â
It was only a few days ago when China were atop of these standings, soaring high and looking like they’d do the same thing as South Korea and send all four clubs to the playoffs. Well, after a disastrous second half of the group stage, the LPL saw their quartet turn into a duo, with both LNG Esports and FunPlus Phoenix squandering 2-1 records. Not only did their numbers dwindle in the blink of the eye, there will be only one Chinese team that makes it to the semifinals. Edward Gaming narrowly dispatched of Royal Never Give Up in the quarterfinals to be the final LPL team remaining in Iceland.
3. North America: 9-14 (15-16), Eliminated in Quarterfinals
North America ended its run at Worlds 2021 in unceremonious fashion by getting smacked by Gen.G in the quarterfinals. The LCS will now need to regroup heading into the offseason, with all 10 NA franchises eyeing the 2022 World Championship that will take place on their home continent.
4. Europe: 8-15 (8-15), Eliminated in Quarterfinals
Europe hoped for a miracle against DWG KIA in the opening round of the knockout phase, but the scrappy Lions couldn’t withstand the overall gap in power versus the 2020 world champions.
5. Asia-Pacific: 3-3 (8-11), Eliminated in Group Stage
PSG Talon were the surprise team of this year’s Mid-Season Invitational when they made the top four and pushed eventual champions Royal Never Give Up in the semifinals. Following a summer split where they didn’t drop a map for months and a first half of the group stage where they went 2-1, a placement in the playoffs seemed likely. A poor second half to the groups knocked them and their region out of Worlds 2021.
6. Japan: 0-6 (4-7), Eliminated in Group Stage
Japan’s run ended in the main event without a single win, but Detonation FocusMe put their region on the map this tournament. Though they leave Iceland with 0 main event wins, I expect to see them back next year when worlds is hosted in North America with an even stronger team ready to take on the major region squads.
7. Oceania: Made Qualification Round (5-7)
8. Turkey: Made Elimination Round (4-5)
9. Brazil: Made Elimination Round (3-6)
10. Commonwealth of Independent States: Last in Play-in Groups (1-4)
11. Latin America: Last in Play-in Groups (0-4)
Last updated Oct. 18 following Day 7 of Group Stage
