Worlds is considered one of, it not the, biggest event in esports. Its a place where the best teams, companies, and artists combine to put on the biggest spectacle esports has seen. League of Legends esports is well over a decade old at this point with over ten World Championship events under its belt. Today we will walk you through every grand final Worlds has had, giving small detail into the teams playing, where the finals was held, and more.
Worlds 2011: Fnatic vs aAa
The beginning of Worlds, before the dawn of the LCK and the LPL, European teams ruled the world with Fnatic and aAa squaring off in the first ever worlds finals. Many do not consider this to be the first world championship given there were no Korean or Chinese teams involved. Nevertheless, this would be the beginning of a historic esports tournament.
Worlds 2012: TPA vs Azubu Frost
We were only into year two and we were already seeing upsets occur on the international stage. Taiwan's TPA shocked the world when they took down the Korean juggernaut Azubu Frost in the grand finals. This wasn't the best showing for Riot given many technical difficulties, though there was a silver lining given this was the birth of what would be a synonymous song for Riot in the form of Silver Scrapes.
Worlds 2013: SKT T1 vs Star Horn Royal Club
The birth of what would be one of the greatest organizations in esports history, and the beginning of what would be a decade's worth of dominance from one man in particular, Faker. This was the start of SKT's reign over the League of Legends esports division with a young SKT lineup taking down the LPL's Star Horn Royal Club.
Worlds 2014: Samsung White vs Star Horn Royal Club
Jump forward a year and we have the team that changed the way we look at League of Legends today. The legendary Samsung White lineup, which took down their sister team Samsung Blue in the semifinals, put on a dominant display in the grand finals, once again with Star Horn Royal Club feeling the full force of the LCK. This also saw opening ceremonies in League of Legends go to a whole new level with Imagine Dragon performing their song Warriors ahead of the intense best-of-five.
Worlds 2015: SKT T1 vs Koo Tigers
After shockingly missing Worlds 2014 after claiming victory in 2013, SKT was back with a vengeance and looking better than ever. This year, Worlds went on the road away from North America and the East with Europe being their next destination. This was an amazing event that was capped off by SKT lifting their second World title against the emerging Koo Tigers, starting a rivalry between the two teams.
Worlds 2016: SKT T1 vs Samsung Galaxy
Worlds 2016 would be the beginning of another budding rivalry in the LCK between SKT and Samsung Galaxy. The two would meet in what would be back-to-back grand finals. This series was a thriller from start to finish. Many believed SKT would steamroll their fellow LCK opponents, but this series would indicate just because SKT was much better domestically, doesn't mean Samsung can't put up a fight. This series went the distance with SKT pulling through to win their third World Championship.
Worlds 2017: SKT T1 vs Samsung Galaxy
All hail the new kings, Samsung Galaxy made history as they were able to topple the most dominant team in League of Legends history. No one saw it coming and it began what would be a dark period for the SKT organization moving forward. This final also brought on one of the more iconic images in LoL esports history, Faker devastated in his chair after losing his first-ever Worlds final.
Worlds 2018: Invictus Gaming vs Fnatic
Worlds 2018 was a memorable one for a magnitude of reasons. This was the first time since season one an LCK team had not competed in the grand finals. It was Europe Fnatic taking on the LPLs Invictus Gaming. On top of that, North America's Cloud9 made it to the semifinals, for the first time in the LCS's history. The LPL finally got over the line with their first World Championship win.
Worlds 2019: FPX vs G2 Esports
The LPL's reign over League of Legends was well and truly underway. Funplus Phoenix stunned the hometown favorites G2 in a demolition job on the worlds stage. Everyone thought it was G2's tournament to lose, given they had won MSI 2019 and took down SKT in the semifinals, putting them one series away from completing the Golden Road, the closest team in LoL esports history to do so.
Worlds 2020: Damwon vs Suning
While Worlds 2020 was a legitimate tournament, this was the beginning of the COVID era for the next two years. Up until the finals, the games were played in an empty studio, providing a different type of environment for its players. The finals however was the best Riot could put on, with the surging Damwon Gaming securing their crown and a new age in League of Legends began.
Worlds 2021: EDG vs Damwon
With Damwon well and truly on top as the best team in the world, it came as a shock when they fell for EDG in the grand finals. The LPL team had never surpassed the quarter-finals until that year, breaking their curse and securing the first world champion for the organization and the LPL's third title in four years.
Worlds 2022: T1 vs DRX
Now comes the biggest underdog story likely in esports history. DRX shocked the world when they took down T1, who were back in the grand finals for the first time in many years. What was crazy about this worlds is DRX was the fourth seed. They were the first team ever to come through the play-in stage and win the world championship. Although it was an embarrassing defeat for T1, it would be a sign of better things to come.
Worlds 2023: T1 vs Weibo Gaming
T1 was back and secured their fourth world championship. Despite losing in 2022, this only made the young lineup stronger, taking down a surging Weibo Gaming 3-0 in the grand finals. It was surprising enough that the LPL squad was in the finals to begin with. TheShy rolled back the years and dominated the competition to push his team through to the finals. It wasn't enough however as T1 returned to the top of the mountain.
If you want to stay up to date with the latest important information on the pro scene, go to our league of legends stats tracker.
Related articles
Upcoming Top Matches
Comments