Global Information2018 League of Legends World Championship information
| 2018 | |
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | South Korea |
| Dates | October 1–November 3 |
Tournament format(s) | 12 team double round-robin play-in stage 16 team double round-robin group stage 8 team single-elimination bracket |
| Venue(s) | 4 (in 4 host cities)
|
| Teams | 24 |
| Purse | 6.7 million |
| Final positions | |
| Champion | Invictus Gaming |
| Runner-up | Fnatic |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Attendance | Peak viewership: 43.997.815[1] |
| MVP | Gao "Ning" Zhenning (Invictus Gaming) |
The 2018 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the eighth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. It was held from October 1 to November 3, 2018, in cities across South Korea. Twenty four teams qualified for the tournament based on their placement in regional circuits such as those in China, South Korea, Europe, and North America, with twelve of those teams having to reach the group stage via a play-in round.[2] The tournament became known for its very surprising results, numerous upsets, and has often been considered the most unpredictable worlds in League of Legends' history.[3][4][5] The tournament also became the most watched esports event in history, reaching a peak of over 200 million concurrent viewers during the finals. It surpassed the viewership of the 2017 League of Legends World Championship, as well as the peak viewership of numerous worldwide sporting events including the Super Bowl.[6][7]
The tournament's opening ceremony received significant attention, with over 90 million concurrent viewers tuning in for the performance. A virtual K-pop group named K/DA was unveiled by Riot Games during the ceremony, with Soyeon and Miyeon from (G)I-dle, Madison Beer and Jaira Burns representing the group as its human counterpart and in the live performance of the finals. K/DA topped global music charts after the initial release of their debut song "Pop/Stars", receiving considerable attention online and raking in one of the fastest viewership records for its music video on YouTube. A dance practice video of "Pop/Stars", as popular in the K-pop scene, was also released.[8][9][10] "RISE" is the tournament's theme song, put together by The Glitch Mob, Mako and The Word Alive. A remix version of "RISE" featuring Bobby from IKON was also released shortly after, with the song being performed on the tournament's finals by all the involved music groups and artists.[11] The song would be performed again when Korea hosted the tournament for the second time in 2023.
The victory of China's Invictus Gaming over Europe's Fnatic in the tournament's finals marked the first time in League of Legends history that the LPL (China) as a region won the world championship, as well as the first time a non-LCK (Korean) team has won after five consecutive years of prior Korean winners. The final series is also the fastest world championship finals in history at 85 minutes total game time.[12] Gao “Ning” Zhenning was awarded the MVP of the finals due to his outstanding performance and contributions during the series, marking the first time a jungle position player has won a world championship MVP.[13][14]
- ^ "League of Legends Esports Breaks World Championship Viewership Record". Riot Games. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
- ^ "24 teams complete the lineup for the 2018 League of Legends World Championship".
- ^ "The Worlds 2018 Quarterfinals were full of upsets". The Rift Herald.
- ^ "Fnatic, Worlds 2018 and the pain of believing". ESPN.com.
- ^ "Ranking the League of Legends World Championship finals". ESPN.com.
- ^ "League of Legends in 2018 was the World's Most Viewed Esports Game in History – TalkEsport". www.talkesport.com.
- ^ "2018 World Championship detailed stats". esc.watch.
- ^ Crecente, Brian (November 7, 2018). "Fictional Hologram Band Tops Real-World Charts After Stunning 'League of Legend' Show (Watch)". Variety.
- ^ "Watch The Word Alive crush their 'League Of Legends' Worlds performance". Alternative Press. November 3, 2018.
- ^ "K/DA comes to life through AR at the 2018 Worlds Finals Opening Ceremony". The Rift Herald.
- ^ "RISE is the newest Worlds theme song". The Rift Herald.
- ^ "Fnatic, Worlds 2018 and the pain of believing". ESPN.com.
- ^ "China's frenzy over League of Legends championship sheds light on esports growth". TechCrunch.
- ^ "Ning is your 2018 League of Legends World Championship Finals MVP".