As Worlds 2024 comes to a close, Riot Games is already preparing for an even more exciting and ambitious League of Legends Esports season in 2025. With major changes and new events already in the pipeline, 2025 is set to bring plenty of surprises to the competitive world of LoL. From new global tournaments, innovative draft mechanics, to updates to regional leagues, here’s what fans can expect next year.
New Global Event: First Stand Tournament
For the first time ever, LoL Esports is introducing a third global event: the First Stand Tournament. The tournament will take place from March 10-16, 2025 at LoL Park in Seoul, South Korea, following the conclusion of Split 1. The main goal of the tournament is to ignite competition between regions early in the season and give fans a first look at what’s to come throughout the year. The First Stand Tournament will be a dramatic and suspenseful opening event, giving a glimpse into the potential of teams in 2025.
Fearless Draft: A New Era in Draft Strategy
2025 will also bring a major change to the draft mechanism with the introduction of the Fearless Draft. This draft system will be introduced in Split 1 and will be a key feature of the First Stand Tournament.
The way it works is quite revolutionary: once a champion is picked, it will be locked for the entire series, so neither team can pick the same champion again in the remaining matches. In addition to the usual 10 bans from each team, there will be an additional 10 Fearless Bans in each best-of-series, increasing the complexity and making every pick in the draft even more important. With more champions unpickable, teams will be challenged to adapt quickly to changes in the champion pool, creating more dynamic and unpredictable matches.
MSI 2025: Returning to Canada
After a long time, Canada will finally host the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) in June 2025. The top 10 teams from various regions will compete for the international championship title. MSI’s return to Canada is a historic moment, and Canadian fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of competitive LoL Esports to their home country.
Worlds Finals 2025: Chengdu to Host
After an incredible experience during MSI 2024 in Chengdu, the Worlds Finals 2025 will now be held in the same city in China. With an incredibly lively atmosphere and an incredibly enthusiastic fan base, Chengdu is set to host the Worlds Finals 2025, which is sure to be one of the most unforgettable tournaments ever. This announcement marks the return of the world’s largest international tournament to China, which is sure to have fans there very excited.
In addition, other leagues have also announced their format updates:
LPL (China): Still waiting for further information.
LCK (Korea): Will continue to innovate and maintain high competitive standards.
LEC (Europe): Implementing format changes to maintain the appeal and excitement of the league.
LTA (Americas): New league in the Americas region with a more dynamic format.
LCP (Asia-Pacific): New league for the Asia-Pacific region with big ambitions.
