Korea to Host League of Legends World Championship This Fall

Korea will host the League of Legends World Championship, the world's biggest online gaming event this fall.

The annual international tournament of the role-playing game, also known as LoL, organized by developer Riot Games, will be held in Busan and Seoul for six weeks from Oct. 10 to Nov. 19.

A total of 22 teams from around the world will compete at the tournament, with the quarterfinals and semifinals being held in Busan and the finals in Seoul.

It will be Korea's third time hosting the tournament after doing so in 2014 and 2018. Korea has won seven out of the past 12 championships and the country is considered one of the strongest contenders, along with China.

"Once the tournament begins, Seoul will become the center of attention of LoL fans around the world," a Seoul city official said. "We will take advantage of this opportunity to promote Seoul."

With the growing popularity of e-sports, it has been selected as one of the official events to be played at the Asian Games scheduled to open in Hangzhou, China in September.