Who won League of Legends Worlds in 2021?

The 2021 World Championship was the eleventh edition of Riot Games' premier League of Legends competition and was held in Reykjavík, Iceland, from October 5 to November 6, 2021. The tournament was originally scheduled to take place in China but was moved to Iceland due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No Vietnamese teams participated in the event due to travel restrictions that prevented Vietnamese citizens from re-entering their country.

The 2021 Worlds were won by , marking China's third World Championship title and its most recent to date. EDG claimed the trophy after defeating DWG KIA 3-2 in the grand final, earning nearly $500,000 in prize money. The Finals MVP award went to Korean midlaner Lee "" Ye-chan, who delivered an impressive performance throughout the tournament.

The five players who won the competition in 2021 are all still active at the time of writing, in 2026. Toplaner Li "" Xuan-Jun was only 23 years old at the time and was already in his eighth year of competitive play. The LPL Summer Split and Worlds that year marked the first trophies of his career. In the jungle, EDG's homegrown talent Zhao "" Li-Jie, who turned 20 during the tournament, dominated Summoner's Rift.

Midlaner Scout, meanwhile, was already an established name in the role at 23, with plenty of experience under his belt. In the botlane, Park "" Do-hyeon had only recently arrived in China from the LCK and was 21 years old when he truly made a name for himself on the international stage. Finally, Tian "" Ye was the most decorated player on the roster. Already an MSI champion with EDG in 2015, he is among the select few players to have won both titles.

The tournament began with a Play-In stage featuring China's LNG Esports, South Korea's Hanwha Life Esports, North America's Cloud9, Taiwan's Beyond Gaming, Brazil's RED Canids, Germany's Unicorns of Love, Japan's DetonatioN FocusMe, Costa Rica's Infinity, Australia's PEACE, and Turkey's Galatasaray Esports. The stage was largely dominated by DFM, C9, HLE, and, who comfortably secured their places in the Main Event.

The group stage saw Pool 1 consist of EDG, DWG KIA, MAD Lions, and PSG Talon, while Pool 2 featured FunPlus Phoenix, Gen.G, Fnatic, and 100 Thieves. Pool 3 was made up of Royal Never Give Up, T1, Rogue, and Team Liquid, while Pool 4 consisted of the four teams that qualified through the Play-In stage. It is worth noting that Fnatic AD carry Elias "Upset" Lipp was unable to participate in the tournament due to an urgent family matter and was replaced by Louis "Bean" Schmitz, the academy’s botlaner.

The group stage produced several surprises, particularly in Group A, where FPX were eliminated by Rogue in a tiebreaker before Rogue themselves fell to C9 in another tiebreaker. Group C was also fiercely contested, as Gen.G, MAD Lions, LNG, and Team Liquid all finished with a 3-3 record and had to play tiebreakers to determine the final standings.

Worlds 2021 marked T1's return to Worlds after missing the previous edition and, more importantly, the emergence of a new generation around Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok, featuring Mun "Oner" Hyeon-jun, Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong, and Ryu "Keria" Min-seok. Heo "ShowMaker" Su also returned to defend the title he had won the previous year, while Gen.G's Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk and Gwak "Bdd" Bo-seong were among the tournament's other big names.

The quarterfinals began with a dominant clean sweep from T1 against HLE, led by young star Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon and veteran Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu. This was followed by the most closely contested series of the round, an all-LPL clash between EDG and RNG, featuring Li "Xiaohu" Yuan-Hao playing toplane for the tournament. Scout and his teammates eventually came out on top.

DK then comfortably swept Europe's first seed, MAD Lions, before Gen.G did the same to C9, once again highlighting the growing gap between the Eastern and Western regions. From the semifinals onward, every series went the distance, ending in five games and delivering some unforgettable battles that remain etched in fans' memories.

The first semifinal was an absolute banger, with an incredible five-game series between T1 and DK at a time when the meta was very different from today's and Fearless Draft did not yet exist. Keria played Zilean, while Kim "Khan" Dong-ha locked in Graves and Lucian. Jang "Ghost" Yong-jun was named MVP of this bloodbath between the two teams, as DK secured their place in the final for the second consecutive year, looking to defend their title.

On the other side of the bracket, the semifinal between Gen.G and EDG was just as long, also going to five games. Despite the defeat, Kim "Clid" Tae-min received the MVP award of that day for his Game 2 performance on Lee Sin, where he was dominant. Unfortunately for Gen.G, it was not enough to stop Scout in his pursuit of the title.

In the grand final, EDward Gaming drew first blood, only for DK to respond by winning the next two games and putting the Chinese team on the brink of defeat. The final two games saw Scout one-shot his opponents on Zoe, following an imperial Game 1 performance on Ryze, earning him the Finals MVP award. Worlds 2021 concluded with China at the top of the League of Legends world, a peak the region has yet to reach again.