Riot Games has announced the five Chinese cities that Worlds will visit in the run up to the grand final, held in Shenzhen. On the list is Qingdao, Wuhan, Chengdu, Shanghai, and Shenzhen [via GGRecon].
Esports fans and players alike can’t wait for tournaments to return to an in-person setting. Nothing beats the sense of excitement that a live crowd brings to a sporting event.
The organisers of the League of Legends World Championship, often shortened to ‘Worlds’, understand this. The event saw a toned down version play out last year with teams only competing in one venue and a very small number of fans allowed in attendance.
That’s all changing this year, though. As the world slowly begins to rise above the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person events are starting to become the norm once again. Riot Games have already experimented with bringing players back to LAN for the Valorant Champions Tour in Reykjavik.
Worlds is headed to a familiar spot this year…
One city stands out on that list as familiar from the last eighteen months. Many will recognise Wuhan as the epicentre of the global pandemic. It’s where the first cases were recorded and ultimately saw the beginning of the situation we’re in today.
Despite seeing some of the worst of the pandemic, Wuhan is pretty much back to normal. Cases remain low with residents choosing to still wear face masks in many indoor settings. Apparently, there’s even antibacterial vans that drive through the street to cleanse the virus from the city.
Worlds is expected to close out on 6th November, however Riot are yet to announce when the tournament will actually begin. A whopping $2.225 million is up for grabs, one of the largest prize pools on the esports calendar.
Worlds is a massive global event. Last year it pulled in an average audience of 23 million, over a million more than the previous year [via Reuters].
Will you be tuning in to Worlds this year? Let us know across our social channels.
Get up to 100% Off The Latest Releases on the GameByte Shop
Over on the GameByte Shop right now you can get up to 100% off the latest. How? By buying an or . Games include Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Resident Evil Village, Returnal, Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War and F1 2021. Simply add the headset of your choice to your cart and the offer will appear.
You can also get 50% off the selected games if you decide to purchase other EPOS headsets instead.
Featured Image Credit: