The first ever League of Legends World championship was held in Summer of 2011. Season One of the championship was held at Jonkoping, Sweden. It was the first Lan Tournament organised by Riot. Season One of the LoL world championship continues to remain a fan-favourite as it is the only time a European team has won-so far. Season one also remains the only time the championship was conducted in Summer. Since then it has been held annually in September.
Format of LoL WCS 1
The first season of the LoL world champions actually followed a slightly different format than the one in use today. The format was relatively simple. After season 2 the format was modified.
Group Stage
- The participating eight teams were divided into two groups
- Best of one matches where 2nd and 3rd from each group qualified for Relegation Round of playoffs
- Winners qualified directly for Semifinals
Playoffs
- Relegation Round was single elimination while everything else followed double elimination
- Losers of the Relegation Round faced each other in tiebreaker match
- Teams placed 2nd gained advantage in the Relegation round
- Winners of teams who played each other in Upper Bracket get 1-0 start in rematches
Teams of League of Legends World Championship Season 1
The first season had only eight teams as compared to the twenty-four that participated in the 2019 World Championship. Three North American teams, three European teams and two Asian teams were invited by Riot to play the tournament. Teams that participated in the 2011 World championship are –
- Fnatic
- Against all authority
- Counter Logic Gaming
- Epik Gamer
- Team GAMED.DE
- Team Pacific
- Team SoloMid
- Xan
Prize Pool LoL WCS 1
Compared to today, Season One’s prize pool looks small. The eight teams mentioned above fought it out for a total prize pool of US$99,500. Winner, Fnatic took home more than half of the prize pool.
Fnatic – US$50,000
Against All authority – US$25,000
Team SoloMid – US$10,000
Epik Gamer – US$7,000
Counter Logic Gaming – US$ 3,500
Team GAMED.DE – US$ 2,000
Team Pacific – US$1,000
Xan– US$1,000
League of Legends World Championship Season 1 Finals
Season One is still the only season when a European team won the championship. This was more special as the tournament happened in Sweden,Europe. Fnatic met Against All authority in an action filled final game. Fnatic beat CLG 2-1 in the quarterfinals, Epik Gamers 2-0 in the semi-finals to advance to the finals.Eventually beating AaA 2-0 to secure the title as the first ever League of Legends World Championships. A title that will always be special.
Despite the small prize fund battles were fought hard and were extremely interesting to watch. I believe this season is also the only time an Asian team didn’t appear in the top 3. Looking back , it is almost impossible to imagine the now larger than life tournament to have such simple beginnings. Since its inception the game has grown in popularity. The League of Legends World Championship has become an annual event that is watched across the world by millions of fans.
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