Riot Games, having successfully concluded the 2023 League of Legends World Championship, has unveiled plans for the 2024 international tournaments. Riot Games has shared a comprehensive overview of the changes, including the locations and formats for the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) and the League of Legends World Championship (Worlds) on the LoL Esports website.

MSI 2024, Opening in Chengdu on May 1

MSI 2024 will take place from May 1 (Wednesday) to May 19 (Sunday) in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, China. This marks the first time Riot Games is hosting a global LoL Esports event in Chengdu, following the previous year's MSI in London, United Kingdom.

Since its inception in 2015, MSI did not directly impact the number of regional teams participating in Worlds. However, in MSI 2024, changes have been made to influence the outcome directly. The champions will receive a direct ticket to Worlds 2024, and additional seeding will be granted to the top-performing regions.

Riot Games has decided to provide three Worlds seed slots for each of the major regions: LCK (Korea), LEC (EMEA), LCS (North America), and LPL (China). PCS (Asia-Pacific) and VCS (Vietnam) will receive two slots each, while LLA (Latin America) and CBLOL (Brazil) will receive one slot each. Unlike in previous years, where additional seeding was based on the international performance over the past two years, MSI results in 2024 will have a more direct impact on Worlds.

As per the new format, the team winning MSI 2024 will secure an automatic spot at Worlds, considered an additional slot for their region. The region with the next best-performing team after the MSI winner will also receive an extra seed. However, the direct Worlds qualification gained through winning MSI will only be valid if the team qualifies for the Summer Playoffs in their respective regional league.

To illustrate with an example from the 2023 MSI results, the LPL team, JD Gaming, which won MSI 2023, automatically qualifies for Worlds. Therefore, including JD Gaming, a total of four teams from the LPL will participate in Worlds. Following this, the LCK, as the region with the next best-performing team, secures an additional Worlds seed, resulting in a total of four seeds for the region.

Additionally, the double-elimination format, which was first implemented in MSI 2023, will continue in MSI 2024. Riot Games anticipates that these adjustments will intensify competition, creating a more challenging environment and serving as a bridge connecting the two core international events in the LoL Esports season.

Worlds 2024, from Sep. 25 to Nov. 2

The grand finals of Worlds 2024, as previously announced, will take place at the O2 Arena in London, UK. The play-ins and the Swiss stage will occur at Riot Games Arena in Berlin, Germany. Riot Games recently revamped the LEC Studio into the Riot Games Arena, making it a suitable venue for hosting and broadcasting various esports events, including LoL, Valorant, and TFT. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be held at the Adidas Arena in Paris, France. Worlds 2024 is scheduled to run from September 25 (Wednesday) to November 2 (Saturday).