On Friday, January 5, 2024, Riot Games, LLC announced the latest updates for the League of Legends (LoL) esports scene for 2024. The 2024 season brings major changes to both the game and the professional circuit.
MSI and Worlds Slot Allocations Change Starting in 2024
LoL features professional leagues across the globe, and Japan is no exception. The Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) and the League of Legends World Championship (Worlds) are the stages where top teams from their respective regional regular seasons gather. These annual international tournaments are the culmination of the professional LoL scene, hosting the world's most intense battles. Riot has just released the latest information on MSI 2024 and Worlds 2024!
First, for MSI 2024, held in Chengdu, China from Wednesday, May 1, to Sunday, May 19, 2024, the winning team earns a slot at Worlds. Since this slot is granted in addition to a region's existing allocation, the region of the MSI-winning team earns an additional Worlds slot. However, teams that secure this slot must still compete in their regional league's Summer Playoffs to claim it (excluding the LEC), so they cannot afford to let their guard down.
Furthermore, the region of the MSI runner-up will also receive an additional slot for Worlds. Because this slot is awarded to the region, it is possible that a team other than the one that performed well at MSI might benefit.
For Worlds 2024, scheduled in London, UK from Wednesday, September 25, to Saturday, November 2, 2024, the base Worlds slots for the LEC, LCS, LCK, and LPL will shift to 3 slots each. The slot distribution for each region is as follows:
- LEC (Europe): 3 slots
- LCS (North America): 3 slots
- LCK (Korea): 3 slots
- LPL (China): 3 slots
- PCS (Pacific): 2 slots
- VCS (Vietnam): 2 slots
- LLA (Latin America): 1 slot
- CBLOL (Brazil): 1 slot
One slot is added to the region of the MSI runner-up, and if the MSI-winning team advances to their region's Summer Playoffs, they confirm their special slot entry. Worlds will feature a battle of up to 20 teams.
In 2024, the Worlds slot previously granted to the domestic Japanese league, the League of Legends Japan League, will be removed. Top LJL teams will now advance to the PCS Playoffs to compete for a spot in the world championship. While the era of DetonatioN FocusMe's dominance has continued, teams must now fight to win their slots against global competitors. Hopefully, this measure generates further competitiveness and elevates the level of play in Japan.
Details regarding the 2024 LoL esports announcements are available on the LoL Esports official website.