All League of Legends Worlds winners since 2011

In the decade plus since Riot Games started League championships, the competition has seen a handful of teams earn the title of Worlds winner.

League of Legends first went live on October 27, 2009, and it didn’t take long for players to start organizing competitive teams and regional tournaments. Since the first World Championship back in 2011, viewership and player base has grown exponentially to make international League tournaments some of the most watched esports events of all time.

Leading up to the 2024 Worlds finals, here are all of the League of Legends championship winners from 2011 on.

All League of Legends Worlds winners

Season 1 World Championship

Location: Jonkoping, Sweden

Dates: June 18–20, 2011

Winner: Fnatic

In 2011, Fnatic became the very first League Worlds winner. The Swedish team is also known for its even stronger showing in CSGO/CS2 as well as competition in other esports.

The original championship only had eight teams competing and was a part of DreamHack rather than the eventual months-long tournament it would become. Teams had a total prize pool of $100,000 to split between them rather than the millions currently available.

If you’re inspired by the champions used in Worlds, discover the role each champion fills with our complete League of Legends role guide.

Season 2 World Championship

Location: Los Angeles, United States

Dates: October 4–13, 2012

Winner: Taipei Assassins

The Taiwanese Taipei Assassins won out over the Korean Azubu Frost, the latter of whom was fined due to a member looking up at the viewer-only map during a match. Spurred on by the success of the first World Championship, Riot increased the prize pool to $2 million to be split among the 12 teams.

Season 3 World Championship

Locations: Culver City and Los Angeles, United States

Dates: September 15–October 4, 2013

Winner: T1 (formerly known as SK Telecom T1)

The esports world got its first hint at what was to come with the 2013 League of Legends Worlds winner T1 and its brand new mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok. With now 14 teams, Riot expanded its international talent pool.

Worlds 2014

Locations: Taipei, Taiwan; Tampines, Singapore; Busan and Seoul, South Korea

Dates: September 18–October 19, 2014

Theme: Warriors by Imagine Dragons

Winner: Samsung Galaxy White

Worlds 2014 is notable for being the first League championship to take place in multiple countries. 16 teams got to travel and compete over a month with Korean Samsung White becoming the new Worlds winner. The team and their counterpart Samsung Blue would later merge into Samsung Galaxy over a new rule against having multiple teams from the same organization.

Worlds 2015

Locations: Paris, France; London, England; Brussels, Belgium; and Berlin, Germany

Dates: October 1–October 31, 2015

Theme: Worlds Collide by Nicky Taylor

Winner: T1 (formerly known as SK Telecom T1)

T1 took home its second title in 2015 despite technical issues that plagued the tournament. After an issue in a match between Fnatic and EDward Gaming that forced a restart, the champions Gragas, Lux, and Ziggs were all disabled. This isn’t the first or last time certain champions have been off-limit for competition. However, their disqualification during the tournament was notable.

Worlds 2016

Locations: Chicago, San Francisco, New York City, and Los Angeles, United States

Dates: September 29–October 29, 2016

Theme: Ignite by Zedd

Winner: T1 (formerly known as SK Telecom T1)

At Worlds 2016, T1 won its third crown and became the only team in League of Legends history to win consecutive titles. While its streak would be broken in 2017, this year promises another chance to double up. Riot also announced the largest prize pool to date at the 2016 World Championships, hitting $6.7 million. Part of the money came from the sale of championship wards and skins.

While League won’t end up being in the 2025 Olympics, Worlds 2016 inspired the movement to include esports in the international competition. Head of the Los Angeles Olympics bid Casey Wasserman suggested that more technological elements like gaming could draw a younger crowd. 2025 will see if he was right.

Worlds 2017

Locations: Wuhan, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing, China

Dates: September 23–November 4, 2017

Theme: Legends Never Die by Against the Current and Christina Constanza

Winner: Samsung Galaxy

Riot bumped the number of World Championship qualifying teams from 16 to 24 in 2017, but the Korean team Samsung Galaxy still took home the title. Technically, this is Samsung Galaxy’s second win because of the 2014 merger with Samsung White. The whole team was later then acquired by KSV eSports, which is now called Gen.G Esports.

Worlds 2018

Locations: Seoul, Busan, Gwangju, and Incheon, South Korea

Dates: October 1–November 3, 2018

Theme: Rise by The Glitch Mob, Mako, and The Word Alive

Winner: Invictus Gaming

Invictus Gaming became the League Worlds winner in what is often regarded as the most unpredictable championship to date. Though Fnatic was the favorite to win, it lost all three finals matches in less than an hour and a half and left empty-handed.

On the plus side, the first League virtual band K/DA debuted as a K-pop girl group featuring members of the real-life group (G)I-dle and other singers. With one single performed at Worlds, it dropped a full album called All Out in 2020.

Worlds 2019

Locations: Berlin, Germany; Madrid, Spain; and Paris, France

Dates: October 2–November 10, 2019

Theme: Phoenix by Cailin Russo and Chrissy Constanza

Winner: FunPlus Phoenix

The Chinese team FunPlus Phoenix took home the Summoner’s Cup in 2019. Importantly, the theme of Worlds 2019 was released before the finals and is just a lucky coincidence as to the title.

Riot also used the success of K/DA the previous year to announce a second virtual band called True Damage. K/DA and (G)I-dle star Soyeon reprised her role as Akali with other champions including Ekko and Senna.

Worlds 2020

Location: Shanghai, China

Dates: September 25–October 31, 2020

Theme: Take Over by Jeremy McKinnon, MAX, and Henry

Winner: Dplus (formerly Damwon Gaming)

Unlike other esports tournaments in 2020, Riot decided to still run the World Championship with 22 teams instead of 24. Several teams had issues attending, including both Vietnamese teams being unable to attend due to travel restrictions and Taiwan’s PSG Talon team making several roster swaps for quarantine reasons.

Despite all this, the newly renamed South Korean team Dplus KIA came out on top, albeit with a smaller monetary award than previous years. The prize pool would continue to shrink in the following years.

Worlds 2021

Location: Reykjavik, Iceland

Dates: October 5–November 6, 2021

Theme: Burn It All Down by Mako and PVRIS

Winner: EDward Gaming

In its second year competing professionally in LoL, the Chinese team EDward Gaming joined the ranks of past League Worlds winners. However, the team seems to have switched to mainly focusing on Valorant since then.

The ongoing pandemic led to another tournament with 22 teams and no Vietnamese participants. Additionally, Riot moved the original venue locations from the original locations throughout China to Iceland due to movement restrictions in the initial location.

Worlds 2022

Locations: Mexico City, Mexico; New York City, Atlanta, and San Francisco, United States

Dates: September 29–November 5, 2022

Theme: STAR WALKIN’ by Lil Nas X

Winner: DRX

DRX came all the way from the play-in stage as South Korea’s final seed to win the 2022 Worlds. Many found its run especially exciting given that it personally defeated past winners like EDward Gaming and T1 along the way.

As in the past two years, one team was missing. This time it was the representative team from central Europe due to the ongoing conflict in the region. Riot opted to give the spot to the LEC.

Worlds 2023

Locations: Seoul and Busan, South Korea

Dates: October 10–November 19, 2023

Theme: GODS by NewJeans

Winner: T1

The 2024 League championship marks T1’s fourth Worlds win. It makes Faker the only LoL player to have four championships under his belt and a Hall of Fame induction. Once again, the tournament consisted of 22 teams, although no specifics were given to explain the decision.

Worlds 2023 is currently the most watched esports event coming in at 6.4 million viewers. Additionally, Riot introduced a new virtual boy band called Heartsteel with champions including Yone, K’Sante, and Aphelios.

Worlds 2024

Locations: Berlin, Germany; Paris, France; and London, England

Dates: September 25–November 2, 2024

Theme: Heavy is the Crown by Linkin Park

Winner: TBD

There are currently 22 teams competing for the 2024 Worlds title, including past winners such as T1 and Dplus KIA. After the Swiss Stage finishes on October 13, the top eight teams will make it to the playoffs after which, a new League Worlds winner will be crowned. Can T1 pull off a second consecutive win run? Fans will know on November 2.