2014 League of Legends World Championship

Last updated
League of Legends World Championship
2014
2014 LoL World Championship logo.png
Tournament information
LocationTaiwan
Singapore
South Korea
DatesSeptember 18–October 19
Administrator Riot Games
Tournament
format(s)
16 team round-robin group stage
8 team single-elimination bracket
Venue(s)
5 (in 4 host cities)
Teams16
Purse$2,130,000
Final positions
Champions Samsung Galaxy White
Runner-up Star Horn Royal Club
Tournament statistics
Matches played78
Attendance40,000+ (final)
MVP Cho "Mata" Se-hyeong (Samsung Galaxy White) [1]
  2013
2015  

The 2014 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament held from September 18 to October 19, 2014, for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends . It was the fourth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. Matches were held in Taipei, Singapore, Busan, and Seoul, with grand finals being at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul, South Korea. [2] The 16 teams qualified by either winning a major professional league or a regional qualifying tournament. There was a 16 team round-robin group stage followed by an 8 team single elimination bracket. The games were officially streamed on Twitch and Azubu in several languages and the finals were aired online on ESPN3.

Contents

The group stage began September 18 in Taipei at the National Taiwan University Sports Center and concluded September 28 in Singapore at the Singapore EXPO with eight teams advancing to the bracket stage. [3] The bracket stage started on October 3 in Busan, South Korea at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center, and concluded on October 19 with the grand finals hosted at the 45,000-seats Seoul World Cup Stadium, [4] [5] where South Korean team Samsung Galaxy White beat the Chinese team Star Horn Royal Club to become the 2014 League of Legends world champions. [6] [ citation needed ]

American band Imagine Dragons contributed the theme song "Warriors" for the tournament, [7] and performed live on the grand finals stage in South Korea. [8] All games were made available for free via live streaming. [9]

The 2014 World Championship games were streamed live by 40 broadcast partners, and cast in 19 languages. The grand finals were watched by 27 million people, with concurrent viewership peaking at over 11 million viewers.

Teams

The following teams qualified to participate in the tournament's group stage: [10]

RegionLeaguePathTeamIDPool
South KoreaThe ChampionsMost Circuit Points #1 Flag of South Korea.svg Samsung Galaxy Blue SSB1
Most Circuit Points #2 Flag of South Korea.svg Samsung Galaxy White SSW2
Regional Finals Winner Flag of South Korea.svg NaJin White ShieldNWS
ChinaLPLRegional Finals Winner #1 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg EDward Gaming EDG1
Regional Finals Winner #2 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Star Horn Royal Club SHR2
Regional Finals Winner #3 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg OMG OMG
EuropeEU LCSSummer Champion Flag of Europe.svg Alliance ALL1
Summer Runner-up Flag of Europe.svg Fnatic FNC2
Summer Third-place Flag of Europe.svg SK Gaming SK3
North AmericaNA LCSSummer Champion Flag of the United States.svg Team SoloMid TSM1
Summer Runner-up Flag of the United States.svg Cloud9 C92
Summer Third-place Flag of the United States.svg LMQ LMQ3
TW/HK/MO & SEAGPLSummer Champion Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taipei Assassins TPA2
Regional Finals Winner Flag of the Republic of China.svg ahq e-Sports Club AHQ
WildcardBrazilCBLolIWCTCBLol Regional Finals Winner
►IWCT PAX 2014 Winner
Flag of Brazil.svg KaBuM! e-Sports KBM3
TurkeyTCLTCL Regional Finals Winner
►IWCT Gamescom 2014 Winner
Flag of Turkey.svg Dark Passage DP3

Venues

Taipei, Singapore, Busan and Seoul were the 4 venues chosen to host the competition.

Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taipei, Taiwan Flag of Singapore.svg Tampines, Singapore Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea
Busan Seoul
Group Stage A and BGroup Stage C and DQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
National Taiwan University Sports Center Singapore EXPO BEXCO Center Olympic Gymnastics Arena Seoul World Cup Stadium
NTU Sports Center and NTU playground 20201213 (cropped).jpg Singapore Expo 2009.jpg Busan BEXCO.jpg Olympic Gymnasium No. 1 olrimpigje1ceyuggwan (5477801853).jpg Seoul World Cup Stadium 01.jpg
Capacity: 4,200Capacity: 16,000Capacity: 4,002Capacity: 15,000Capacity: 66,704

Group stage

The group stage was played in a best of one double round-robin format, with the top two teams from each of the four groups advancing to the knockout stage, for a total of eight teams.

Group A
PosTeamPldWLPCTQualification
1Samsung White6601.000Advance to knockouts
2Edward Gaming743.571
3Ahq e-Sports Club734.429
4Dark Passage606.000
Source: LoL Esports (Archived 2014-11-05 at the Wayback Machine )
Group B
PosTeamPldWLPCTQualification
1Star Horn Royal Club651.833Advance to knockouts
2Team SoloMid642.667
3SK Gaming624.333
4Taipei Assassins615.167
Source: LoL Esports (Archived 2014-11-05 at the Wayback Machine )
Group C
PosTeamPldWLPCTQualification
1Samsung Blue651.833Advance to knockouts
2OMG633.500
3LMQ624.333
4Fnatic624.333
Source: LoL Esports (Archived 2014-11-05 at the Wayback Machine )
Group D
PosTeamPldWLPCTQualification
1NaJin White Shield752.714Advance to knockouts
2Cloud9743.571
3Alliance633.500
4KaBuM e-Sports615.167
Source: LoL Esports (Archived 2014-11-05 at the Wayback Machine )

Knockout stage

Seoul World Cup Stadium for the finals 2014 Worlds Finals - 11.jpg
Seoul World Cup Stadium for the finals
Quarterfinals
BEXCO
Semifinals
Olympic Gymnastics Arena
Final
Seoul World Cup Stadium
October 3
Team SoloMid1
October 11
Samsung Galaxy White3
Samsung Galaxy White3
October 4
Samsung Galaxy Blue0
Cloud91
October 19
Samsung Galaxy Blue3
Samsung Galaxy White3
October 5
Star Horn Royal Club1
Star Horn Royal Club3
October 12
EDward Gaming2
Star Horn Royal Club3
October 6
OMG2
NaJin White Shield0
OMG3

Source: LoL Esports (Archived 2014-11-05 at the Wayback Machine )

Final standings

PlaceTeamPrize money [11]
1st Flag of South Korea.svg Samsung Galaxy White $1,000,000
2nd Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Star Horn Royal Club $250,000
3rd–4th Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg OMG $150,000
Flag of South Korea.svg Samsung Galaxy Blue
5–8th Flag of the United States.svg Cloud9 $75,000
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg EDward Gaming
Flag of South Korea.svg NaJin White Shield
Flag of the United States.svg Team SoloMid
9–11th Flag of the Republic of China.svg ahq e-Sports Club $45,000
Flag of Europe.svg Alliance
Flag of Europe.svg SK Gaming
12–13th Flag of Europe.svg Fnatic $35,000
Flag of the United States.svg LMQ
14–16th Flag of Turkey.svg Dark Passage$25,000
Flag of Brazil.svg KaBuM! e-Sports
Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taipei Assassins

Viewership and attendance

Around 40,000 fans attended the grand finals between Samsung White and Star Horn Royal Club. [12] It is estimated that there were 288 million cumulative views throughout the entire tournament. [13] [14] [15]

The 2014 World Championship games were streamed live by 40 broadcast partners, and cast in 19 languages. The grand finals were watched by 27 million people, with concurrent viewership peaking at over 11 million viewers. [13] [14]

Racism incident

Prior to the World Championship group stage in Taipei, SK Gaming's Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen acted in a racially insensitive way while playing on the Taiwanese server, being disrespectful towards other players and naming his account "TaipeiChingChong". Johnsen was fined US$2,500 and was suspended from his team's first three games in the tournament. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Miller (commentator)</span> British esports commentator

Joe Miller or JOEE is a British commentator. He started his career as an esports caster at gaming tournaments, working his first event shoutcasting Battlefield 1942. The 3D World War II first-person shooter (FPS) video game was coincidentally also the first game Miller played at a competitive level. At age sixteen, he began to commentate BF1942 games at home in the UK, pushing out as many audio commentaries as he could. In an interview with JP McDaniel, Miller revealed that it was a "big jump" from the audio commentaries he initially produced to the audio-video commentaries we are accustomed to today.

<i>League of Legends</i> World Championship Esports tournament

The League of Legends World Championship is the annual professional League of Legends world championship tournament hosted by Riot Games and is the culmination of each season. Teams compete for the champion title, the 44-pound (20-kilogram) Summoner's Cup, and a multi-million-dollar championship prize. In 2018, the final was watched by 99.6 million people, breaking 2017's final's viewer record. The tournament has been praised for its ceremonial performances, while receiving attention worldwide due to its dramatic and emotional nature.

<i>League of Legends</i>: Season 2 World Championship 2012 esports tournament

The League of Legends: Season 2 World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends, held from October 4 to October 13, 2012, in Los Angeles, California. It was the second iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. The tournament was won by Taipei Assassins who defeated Azubu Frost 3–1 in the final.

2015 <i>League of Legends</i> World Championship Fifth League of Legends World Championship, held in Europe

The 2015 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the fifth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. It was held from October 1 to 31 in various cities across Europe: the group stages in Le Dock Pullman, in Paris, France; the quarterfinals at the Wembley Arena in London, England, United Kingdom; the semifinals in the Brussels Expo in Brussels, Belgium; and the finals at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany. The 16 teams qualified by either winning a professional league or a regional qualifying tournament. There was a 16 team round-robin group stage followed by an 8 team single elimination bracket. The games were officially streamed on Twitch, YouTube and Azubu in several languages. The BBC also streamed the tournament online on BBC Three but for British IP addresses only. A peak of around 14 million concurrent viewers watched the finals, according to official sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Svenskeren</span> Danish esports player

Dennis Johnsen, better known as Svenskeren, is a Danish former professional League of Legends player. He has played for SK Gaming, Supa Hot Crew, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Copenhagen Wolves, Team SoloMid, Cloud9, and Evil Geniuses.

<i>League of Legends</i>: Season 3 World Championship 2013 esports tournament

The Season 3 World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the third iteration of the League of Legends World Championship held by Riot Games, and the last iteration not to be formally titled after the year it took place.

2016 <i>League of Legends</i> World Championship Video game championship

The 2016 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the sixth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. It was held from September 29 to October 29, 2016, in cities across the United States. Sixteen teams qualified for the tournament based on their placement in regional circuits such as those in North America, Europe, South Korea, and China. The tournament's group stage was held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, the quarterfinals at The Chicago Theater in Chicago, and the semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The final was held in front of a crowd of nearly 20,000 fans at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Russian-German DJ Zedd made an exclusive song for the tournament titled "Ignite" which became available for streaming viewing on the game's official YouTube channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid-Season Invitational</span> Annual League of Legends tournament

The Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is an annual League of Legends international tournament hosted by Riot Games in the middle of years, since 2015. It is the second most important international League of Legends tournament aside from the World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J Team</span> Professional esports organization founded by Taiwanese singer Jay Chou

J Team is a Taiwanese professional esports organization owned by JY Entertainment with players competing in League of Legends and StarCraft II. It was founded in April 2016 by Jay Chou after he purchased the League of Legends Master Series spot of Taipei Assassins (TPA), which had won the Season 2 World Championship in 2012. J Team's League of Legends team currently competes in the Pacific Championship Series.

2017 <i>League of Legends</i> World Championship Esports tournament

The 2017 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the seventh iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. It was held from September 23 – November 4, 2017, in cities across China. Twenty four teams qualified for the tournament based on their placement in regional circuits such as those in North America, Europe, South Korea, and China, with twelve of those teams having to reach the group stage via a play-in round.

<i>League of Legends</i> in esports

League of Legends esports is the professional competition of the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It is developed and published by Riot Games and was first released in 2009.

2018 <i>League of Legends</i> World Championship Esports tournament

The 2018 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the eighth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. It was held from October 1 to November 3, 2018, in cities across South Korea. Twenty four teams qualified for the tournament based on their placement in regional circuits such as those in China, South Korea, Europe, and North America, with twelve of those teams having to reach the group stage via a play-in round. The tournament became known for its very surprising results, numerous upsets, and has often been considered the most unpredictable worlds in League of Legends' history. The tournament also became the most watched esports event in history, reaching a peak of over 200 million concurrent viewers during the finals. It surpassed the viewership of the 2017 League of Legends World Championship, as well as the peak viewership of numerous worldwide sporting events including the Super Bowl.

2019 <i>League of Legends</i> World Championship Esports tournament held in Europe

The 2019 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the ninth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. It was held from October 2, 2019, to November 10, 2019, in Berlin, Madrid and Paris. Twenty four teams from 13 regions qualified for the tournament based on their placement in regional circuits such as those in China, Europe, North America, South Korea and Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau with twelve of those teams having to reach the main event via a play-in stage.

The Pacific Championship Series (PCS) is a professional esports league for League of Legends teams competing in the Asia-Pacific. Riot Games, the game's developer, created the league on 19 December 2019. This followed an announcement three months prior by Garena – the game's distributor in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia – that it planned to merge the League of Legends Master Series (LMS) and League of Legends SEA Tour (LST) into a single tournament jointly run with Riot Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PSG Talon</span> Professional esports organisation

PSG Talon is a professional esports organisation formed from a partnership between PSG Esports and Talon Esports. Its League of Legends team is based in Taipei and competes in the Pacific Championship Series (PCS). Founded in 2020, PSG Talon is the most successful team in the PCS, having won six of the league's eight titles and having qualified for the World Championship thrice, in 2020, 2021, and 2023. Talon Esports' Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege team, based in South Korea, was rebranded under the PSG Talon name in 2024.

2020 <i>League of Legends</i> World Championship Tenth League of Legends World Championship, held in Shanghai

The 2020 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the tenth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. It was held from 25 September to 31 October in Shanghai, China. Twenty-two teams from eleven regions qualified for the tournament based on their placement in regional circuits, such as those in China, Europe, North America, South Korea and Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau/Southeast Asia, with ten of those teams having to reach the main "groups" event via a play-in stage.

2021 <i>League of Legends</i> World Championship 11th competition of the League of Legends World Championship

The 2021 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the eleventh iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. The tournament was held from 5 October to 6 November in Reykjavík, Iceland. Twenty two teams from 11 regions qualified for the tournament based on their placement in regional circuits such as those in China, Europe, North America, South Korea and Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau/Southeast Asia with ten of those teams having to reach the main event via a play-in stage.

2022 <i>League of Legends</i> World Championship 12th competition of the League of Legends World Championship

The 2022 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the twelfth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. The tournament was held from September 29 to November 5 in Mexico and the United States. Twenty-four teams from 11 regions qualified for the tournament based on their placement in regional circuits such as those in China, Europe, North America, South Korea, Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau/Southeast Asia and Vietnam, with twelve of those teams having to reach the main event via a play-in stage.

The 2023 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the thirteenth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. The tournament began in South Korea on October 10 until November 19. Twenty-two teams from nine regions qualified for the tournament based on their placement in regional circuits; defending champions DRX failed to do so after losing to Dplus KIA in the 2023 LCK Regional Finals. JD Gaming were in contention to become the first team to complete the "Golden Road", but lost to eventual champions T1 in the semifinals of the knockout stage.

The 2024 League of Legends World Championship is an upcoming esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It is the fourteenth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organised by the game's developer, Riot Games. The tournament will be held from 25 September to 2 November in Berlin, Paris, and London. It will be the fifth time Europe has hosted the tournament, having held the event in 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2021. Twenty teams will qualify based on placement within their regional leagues and results gained in the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI).

References

  1. Fields, Frank (October 19, 2014). "SAMSUNG WHITE WINS 2014 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP". LoL Esports. Riot Games. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  2. MOZUR, PAUL (October 19, 2014). "For South Korea, E-Sports Is National Pastime". The New York Times . Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  3. "World Championship 2014 Preliminary Schedule" . Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  4. "'League of Legends' scholarship" . Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  5. Magrino, Tom. "Welcome to the League of Legends 2014 World Championship!" . Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  6. "Bracket". LoL Esports. Riot Games. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  7. "Imagine Dragons teams with 'League of Legends' for $2.3m tournament – Yahoo News Singapore" . Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  8. "Prepare yourself for the 2014 Worlds Final" . Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  9. "Watch 'League Of Legends' World Championship 2014 Live Online". 21 September 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  10. Jackson, Leah (September 8, 2015). "WORLDS 2014 GROUP STAGE SELECTION RESULTS". LoL Esports. Riot Games. Archived from the original on November 2, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  11. "League of Legends World Championships Prize Distribution – $2.13 Million USD Total". onGamers . CBS Interactive. August 5, 2014. Archived from the original on January 13, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  12. Tassi, Paul (October 19, 2015). "40,000 Korean Fans Watch SSW Win 2014 'League of Legends' World Championship". Forbes . Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  13. 1 2 "WORLDS 2014 BY THE NUMBERS". Riot Games. December 1, 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-12-02. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  14. 1 2 Gafford, Travis (December 1, 2014). "League of Legends 2014 World Championship Viewer Numbers (Infograph)". onGamers. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 13, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  15. Dorsey, Patrick (December 14, 2014). "'League of Legends' ratings top NBA Finals, World Series clinchers". ESPN . Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  16. "League of Legends Competition Ruling: Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen | LoL Esports" . Retrieved October 8, 2014.