2025 League of Legends World Championship heads to China

Developer Riot Games has announced that the League of Legends World Championship for 2025 will be held in China.

The revelation was made within an announcement of a sponsorship extension between the company and smartphone manufacturer OPPO.

Worlds 2025 marks the third time the League of Legends World Championship will be held in China. The 2017 iteration was spread across four cities; Wuhan, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing, with its final famously held in the Bird’s Nest arena. In 2020, a more lowkey world championship was hosted in Shanghai while the COVID-19 pandemic was still ongoing.

The Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), League of Legends’ second-largest annual event, was also held in Chengdu, China earlier this year.

The announcement was unusually made within an article detailing the extension of OPPO’s and Riot Games’ collaboration. The extended partnership will see the former continue to be a global partner of League of Legends esports.

According to the post, the news of China’s hosting the 2025 League of Legends World Championship was revealed during a launch event for the OPPO Find X8 series of mobile phones held in Chengdu. The extension of the partnership between OPPO and Riot Games was announced at the same event.

The collaboration for League of Legends’ global events, which started in 2019, will see OPPO remain as the global presenting partner of both the world championship as well as the MSI MVP awards. The brand also features prominently throughout the events’ broadcasts.

The 2024 World Championship is currently being held in Europe, with its upcoming semi-finals in Paris and grand final set to take place at the O2 Arena in London, England. American rock band Linkin Park provided this year’s official anthem, ‘Heavy is the Crown’, and is expected to perform the song at the London final.