2024 League of Legends World Championship final

A Historic Showdown in London

The stage was set at The O2 Arena in London on 2 November 2024 for a clash between two of League of Legends' most prominent regions. Representing South Korea's LCK were T1, the defending world champions seeking their third consecutive finals appearance. For China's LPL, Bilibili Gaming aimed to claim their first world title in their debut finals appearance. The match was the fourteenth LoL World Championship final and the last under the old two-split competitive calendar before a new structure was implemented in 2025.

The atmosphere was electric with 14,700 fans in attendance. The broadcast shattered records, achieving a peak of 6.9 million concurrent viewers outside of China. This figure was the highest in the tournament's history and in esports overall, making it only the second esports event ever to surpass 6 million peak viewers. The series was a best-of-five, and it would become a dramatic back-and-forth contest.

T1's Challenging Path to a Third Final

T1 entered the 2024 season as reigning world champions, having swept Weibo Gaming 3-0 in the 2023 final. They retained their entire championship roster for the title defense. Their domestic year was marked by near misses and resilience. In the LCK Spring Split, they finished the regular season 15-3 but lost the final to Gen.G 3-2 after holding a 2-1 lead. This made them the LCK's second seed for the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational, where they started in the play-in stage.

At MSI 2024 in Chengdu, T1 twice faced Bilibili Gaming in the bracket stage. They lost the first match 3-1 and, after fighting through the lower bracket, met BLG again in the lower bracket final. T1 forced a decisive fifth game but ultimately lost 3-2, finishing third. The Summer Split saw T1 place fourth with an 11-7 record. They lost in the playoffs to Hanwha Life Esports and had to qualify for Worlds through the LCK Regional Finals, where they secured the fourth and final seed with a tense 3-2 victory over KT Rolster.

At the World Championship itself, T1 lost their first Swiss stage match to Top Esports. They recovered with wins over paiN Gaming and Bilibili Gaming to reach the 2-1 bracket, where a 2-0 victory over G2 secured their quarterfinal spot. In the knockout stage, they swept Top Esports 3-0 for revenge, then ended a year-long losing streak against Gen.G with a 3-1 semifinal win to book their third consecutive trip to the final.

BLG's Meteoric Rise to the Global Stage

Bilibili Gaming was founded in 2017 and entered the LPL that same year. For several seasons, the team remained in the middle of the standings. Major roster changes before the 2023 season, including the additions of top-laner Chen 'Bin' Zebin, jungler Peng 'Xun' Lixun, ADC Zhao 'Elk' Jiahao as mid-laner, and support Luo 'ON' Wenjun, transformed the squad. They reached their first LPL final in Spring 2023 and the MSI 2023 final, losing both to JD Gaming.

The 2024 season saw BLG sign mid-laner Zhuo 'knight' Ding from JD Gaming and achieve total domestic dominance. They won the LPL Spring Split with a 15-1 regular season record, defeating Top Esports 3-1 in the final for their first domestic title. In the Summer Split, they again finished first in their group with a 7-1 record and went undefeated in the playoffs, beating Weibo Gaming to win their second straight LPL championship and secure the region's first seed for Worlds.

At MSI 2024, BLG reached the final but lost 3-1 to Gen.G. At the World Championship, BLG's Swiss stage run was precarious. After a win over MAD Lions KOI, they suffered consecutive losses to LNG Esports and T1, putting them at a 1-2 record and one series from elimination. They staved off elimination with 2-0 wins over PSG Talon and G2 to advance. In the knockout stage, they upset LCK Summer champions Hanwha Life Esports 3-1 in the quarterfinals, then swept 2023 finalists Weibo Gaming 3-0 in the semifinals to earn their first Worlds final appearance.

The Final Series: A Dramatic Reverse Sweep

The best-of-five final was a tense and back-and-forth affair, the third best-of-five meeting between the two teams in 2024. Bilibili Gaming started strong, taking the series lead. After three games, BLG held a 2-1 advantage, putting the defending champions on the brink of defeat. Facing elimination, T1 mounted a comeback. They won the next two consecutive games in dominant fashion, completing the reverse sweep to win the series 3-2 and claim the Summoner's Cup.

The victory was laden with historical significance. It marked T1's fifth world championship, extending their record. For their mid-laner Lee 'Faker' Sang-hyeok, it was a personal fifth world title, and he was named the Finals Most Valuable Player for the second time. The win represented the first successful defense of a world title since T1 themselves did it in 2016 under the name SK Telecom T1. It was also the second time an LCK fourth seed won Worlds, following DRX in 2022.

Individual and Organizational Legacies

Lee 'Faker' Sang-hyeok's fifth world championship and second Finals MVP honor further confirmed his position in esports history. For T1 as an organization, the victory marked a return to consecutive titles, a feat not achieved since 2015-2016. The team had faced an international title drought after 2017 before their 2023 win, making this successful defense a powerful statement.

For Bilibili Gaming, the final was a milestone despite the loss. It was the organization's first World Championship final, following two consecutive MSI final appearances in 2023 and 2024. For top-laner Chen 'Bin' Zebin, it was a second World Finals appearance, having first played in the 2020 final with Suning, the team now known as Weibo Gaming. BLG's journey from a mid-table LPL team to a world finalist in two years highlighted the impact of their 2023 roster rebuild.

The Broader Competitive Context

The 2024 final was a fitting capstone to an era, being the last world final under the old two-split competitive calendar. It reinforced the intense rivalry between the LCK and LPL, the two regions that have dominated the international scene for years. The series was also notable for being the first World Championship final for a team, BLG, that had qualified through the play-in stage at MSI earlier in the year.

The match continued a trend of dramatic finals, with T1's comeback from a 1-2 deficit echoing the unpredictable nature of recent world championships. The record viewership underscored the event's global reach and significance, setting a new benchmark for esports broadcasts. The final act of the 2024 season confirmed T1's enduring legacy while signaling the arrival of Bilibili Gaming as a permanent elite contender.