Riot Games accidentally made a YouTube video showcasing the 2022 World Championship host cities available for everyone to see. The video was quickly made private, but the damage had been done, as thousands of fans saw the video before that happened.
Weirdly enough, the announcement on the lolesports site was still up long after. “After six years traveling the globe, Worlds 2022 is returning to North America! LoL Esports set to bring Worlds to Mexico City, New York City, Toronto, and San Francisco with a robust continental tour!” the announcement reads.
It’ll be the first Worlds in two years to have multiple host cities. Shanghai was the host of the 2020 Championships.
Originally, the 2021 World Championship was supposed to have a multi-city tour throughout China. Shanghai, Qingdao, Wuhan, Chengdu, and Shenzhen were the cities of choice, before the COVID-19 pandemic made Riot pivot back to a one-city tournament in Reykjavík, Iceland.
It’s still too early to determine whether the World Championship will see live audiences again. With ever-changing guidelines and extra safety protocols to ensure the health of their citizens, it’s up to the host countries or even cities to determine if it’s safe to hold events with live audiences.
All the major sports leagues in North America do currently play their games in front of a live crowd, so you can be mildly optimistic on the outlook.
Also read:
- Mercedes-Benz partners with Riot Games to award custom-fitted Championship rings to the 2021 Worlds winners
- Opinion: What we’ve learned from Worlds 2021 (and how Riot can do better)
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Image Credits: Liu YiCun/Riot Games