History of the League of Legends World Championship

The tournament that started in 2011

The history of the League of Legends World Championship begins in 2011, when it launched as the Season 1 Championship at Dreamhack Summer 2011. From that first event, the tournament became a yearly marker for the game’s top teams, with each edition adding a new line to the record book.

The first champion also brought the first individual honor attached to the event. Fnatic’s Maciej "Shushei" Ratuszniak was named MVP of the first World Championship, giving the opening chapter a clear star name.

The early years: prize money and first champions

The history of the League of Legends World Championship moved quickly in 2012. The Season 2 World Championship had the largest esports prize pool at the time, set at US$2 million.

That same year ended with Taipei Assassins defeating Azubu Frost 3–1 in the final. It was a clean title run on the biggest stage the event had yet seen, and it gave the 2012 tournament a decisive result to match its record-setting prize pool.

In 2013, the Season 3 World Championship final was held at the Staples Center on 4 October 2013. That date and venue placed the event into a larger arena setting, a step that fit the growing scale of the championship.

SK Telecom T1 and the rise of repeat winners

By 2015, SK Telecom T1 had already become a name tied to championship runs, winning its second world title that year. The team’s place in the event’s story became even more prominent in the seasons that followed.

The 2016 World Championship final was won by SK Telecom T1 over Samsung Galaxy, 3–2. One year later, Samsung Galaxy answered by sweeping SK Telecom T1 3–0 in the 2017 final. Those back-to-back finals linked the two teams across consecutive years and gave the late 2010s a sharp rivalry at the top.

China’s breakthroughs and the title runs that followed

In 2018, Invictus Gaming won China and the LPL their first World Championship. The next year, FunPlus Phoenix gave China and the LPL back-to-back World Championships in 2019.

The championship then changed hands again in 2020, when Damwon Gaming defeated Suning 3–1 in the final. In 2021, Edward Gaming won the World Championship final 3–2 against DWG KIA, adding another close finish to the event’s history.

DRX made a different kind of statement in 2022. The team became the first to win the championship after starting from the play-in stage, turning the opening rounds into a path all the way to the title.

Recent milestones: records for T1 and Faker

T1 returned to the top in 2023, winning the World Championship and extending its record to four world titles. That year also marked a major individual achievement, because Faker became the first player to win four World Championships.

The 2024 final went all the way to a 3–2 result, with T1 defeating Bilibili Gaming. Then in 2025, T1 successfully defended its title and won a record-extending sixth world championship.

The championship record from first event to six titles

The history of the League of Legends World Championship is a line of firsts, repeats, and new records. It started at Dreamhack Summer 2011 with a Season 1 Championship, passed through a US$2 million prize pool in 2012, and moved from early winners like Taipei Assassins to dominant stretches for teams such as SK Telecom T1 and T1.

Along the way, the event produced notable finals at the Staples Center, 3–0 sweeps, 3–1 title wins, 3–2 deciders, and a play-in-stage champion in DRX. It also created individual milestones, with Shushei named MVP in the first championship and Faker reaching four world titles in 2023.

From 2011 through 2025, each season added a new chapter to the history of the League of Legends World Championship.

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