Riot Games has announced that the final of the 2024 League of Legends World Championship will take place at the O2 Arena in London, England.
The final for Worlds 2024 will take place on November 2nd, significantly earlier in the year than this year, and will take place at the iconic London venue. The news also presumably confirms that Worlds will take place in Europe for 2024 unless Riot wants to go on a really global trip!
“We’re thrilled to bring the World Final to the UK for the first time,” said Naz Aletaha, Global Head of LoL Esports. “Worlds is a global celebration of the best of League of Legends, and London’s rich history and modern metropolis is a perfect backdrop for the biggest stage in our sport. We were blown away by the passion and energy from fans in London throughout the 2023 Mid-Season Invitational, and we’re eager to welcome them to the O2 where our finalists will take the same stage as the many icons who preceded them.”
As Aletaha mentioned earlier this year London hosted the Mid-Season Invitational, although that was at the much smaller Copper Box Arena. The event proved to be very popular both with local fans who attended and those watching from home, with the passionate UK crowd being a highlight. With the O2 capable of holding up to 20,000 fans you can expect an even bigger and louder crowd for Worlds in 2024.
The news of Worlds coming to London is so big that even the mayor of London, who is a proper politician with a lot to do, found time to comment.
“London is a leading destination for esports, and it’s fantastic that we will host the League of Legends World Championship Finals next year,” said Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London. “It will bring together esports fans from across the globe and also showcase our capital’s cutting edge gaming industry. I will continue to do all I can to support esports development and growth in London, as we build a better London for everyone.”
Information on ticket sales for the finals will be revealed closer to the event.
While Worlds is arguably a significantly larger event, another top-level esports event will be heading to London in 2024. Tournament organizer BLAST announced a few months ago that they will be hosting a top-level CS2 tournament at Wembley Arena.
Of course, the announcement was made as part of the 2023 Worlds final, which took place in South Korea. The opening ceremony saw virtual band Heartsteel perform for the first time, a performance that required a lot of work from Riot Games.
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