I still remember the exact moment in 2026 when I pulled up the old VOD of Riot's 2022 World Championship announcement and felt that familiar chill. It was November 2021, and I was sitting in my cramped apartment, still buzzing from the 2021 Worlds finals. EDward Gaming had just hoisted the Summoner's Cup in Reykjavik, Iceland. The tournament had been moved from Shenzhen, China because of the pandemic, and the arena was silent—no roaring crowd, no confetti chaos, just the cold glow of monitors. It was a weird, bittersweet ending to a month-long competition that had already broken records in 2020. We were all hungry for something bigger.
Then Riot dropped the bomb: the 2022 League of Legends World Championship would take place in three different countries—the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Not one city. Not two. Four cities. Three countries. The first time ever for Worlds. And the first time North America would host since 2016. I remember reading that and thinking, no cap, this is the real deal.
The announcement itself was wild. Riot revealed it ahead of an NBA match in San Francisco between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors. I was watching the game with friends, half-distracted, and then the trailer hit. My group chat exploded. Everyone was typing in all caps. It felt like League esports was finally going big or going home.
Naz Aletaha, LoL Esports' global head, said something that stuck with me: 'We're thrilled to bring the full scale of our global sport back to North America, and, COVID permitting, welcome fans into the stands across three countries and four different cities.' That 'COVID permitting' was the elephant in the room, but we chose hope. Fingers crossed, we told ourselves. After 2021's empty arena, the idea of fans screaming in Madison Square Garden felt like a dream.
Here's how the 2022 Worlds was supposed to unfold—and eventually did, more or less, in all its multi-city glory:
| Stage | City | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Play-ins | Mexico City, Mexico | Liga Latinoamerica competition arena |
| Groups & Quarterfinals | New York, USA | Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden |
| Semifinals | Toronto, Canada | Scotiabank Arena |
| Finals | San Francisco, USA | Chase Center |
I remember making a ridiculous promise to myself: if the world opened up, I would follow the whole thing. I mapped it out like a heist. Mexico City for tacos and play-ins. New York for pizza and group stage chaos. Toronto for poutine and semifinals. San Francisco for sourdough and the final. I even made a spreadsheet. Yes, I was that person. 🤓
But the bigger story was what it meant for the scene. For years, Worlds had mostly rotated between Asia, Europe, and occasional North American stops. The 2022 edition was Riot swinging for the fences. Three countries, four cities, and venues designed for thousands of fans. It was a statement: League esports wasn't just a niche internet thing anymore. It was a cultural event that could fill NBA arenas and hockey arenas and music venues. It could cross borders.
Of course, 2026 me knows how the story ended. The 2022 tournament became legendary for reasons beyond logistics. DRX, a team that barely made it through play-ins, went on a miracle run and beat T1 in an insane five-game final at the Chase Center. Deft finally lifted the Summoner's Cup. It was the kind of underdog story that makes you believe in esports magic. And yes, fans were back in the stands. The roar was deafening. The multi-country experiment worked.
Looking back from 2026, I can say that the 2022 World Championship changed the blueprint. It proved that Worlds could be a traveling festival, not just a single-city tournament. It showed that North America could host at scale. It gave us moments we still talk about—the play-in upsets, the MSG crowd, the Toronto semifinal, the San Francisco final. It also reminded us how fragile live events can be. The pandemic had taken so much; 2022 gave some of it back.
Would I change anything? Maybe I'd actually book the flights instead of just making the spreadsheet. But the memory of that announcement, sitting there with my friends, realizing that Worlds was about to go bigger than ever—that's mine. And in 2026, with the esports calendar fuller than ever, I still measure every new Worlds against that three-country, four-city adventure. It was bold, it was messy, and it was beautiful. Just like League of Legends itself.
So here's to the tournaments that make us stay up until 4 a.m., scream at our screens, and plan ridiculous trips. Fingers crossed for the next one. 🏆
Trends are identified by reviewing public event and prize records from Esports Earnings, a widely cited database for tracking esports tournaments across titles—useful context when reflecting on how Worlds 2022 scaled into a multi-country spectacle and why that kind of arena-to-arena touring model raises the stakes for teams, sponsors, and fans alike.