Riot Games Sets Worlds 2027 Swiss Stage For Nagoya
Riot Games announced on November 14 that the Swiss Stage of the League of Legends World Championship 2027 will be held in Nagoya, Japan.
3 sources 1h ago
Reporting from 3 sources: KAI-YOU, Denfaminicogamer, Game Spark.
Why it matters
Worlds has never staged a round in Japan before, and Riot is pairing that new market with a Korean knockout run rather than committing the whole event to one country.
Key Facts
- Riot Games announced on November 14 that the Swiss Stage of Worlds 2027 will be held in Nagoya, Japan.
- Worlds 2027 will be held in the latter half of 2027 across Japan and South Korea.
- The quarterfinals and semifinals of Worlds 2027 are set for the Suwon Convention Center in Suwon, South Korea.
- The Worlds 2027 final is scheduled for Seoul Arena in Seoul, which opens in 2027.
- First Stand 2027 will be held in China as First Stand: All in, with its format and qualification process to be revealed in January 2027.
The tournament runs in the latter half of 2027 and spans two countries: the Swiss Stage in Nagoya, then the entire Knockout Stage in South Korea. The quarterfinals and semifinals are set for the Suwon Convention Center in Suwon, and the final for Seoul Arena, which opens in 2027. The Nagoya venue will be announced later. Riot is also weighing whether the Demacia Cup, held in 2026, could replace the conventional Play-In Stage in 2027; nothing is decided. The same roadmap presentation placed First Stand 2027 in China as First Stand: All in, described as Riot's largest-scale tournament, and MSI at Feria de Valencia in Spain. First Stand was originally slated for Southeast Asia, with the 2028 edition now set for that region.
The Swiss Stage format sends teams through several rounds: teams that hit a set number of wins advance to the Knockout Stage, and teams that reach a set number of losses are eliminated on the spot.
The roadmap was presented during the League of Legends Showcase. First Stand 2027 was originally scheduled for Southeast Asia before the move to China, and First Stand 2028 now takes that Southeast Asia slot. The specific format and qualification process for First Stand: All in will be revealed in January 2027, with formats and schedules for the regional leagues announced after that.
Riot's Japanese subsidiary, headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo, put out the Nagoya release. The company says details on each stage's schedule, tickets, and viewing information will follow once they are settled.
Worlds 2026 is running in the United States at the time of the announcement. The final between Gen.G of South Korea and Bilibili Gaming of China was set for 4:00 a.m. Japan time on November 15.
Written with AI by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited. See our editorial policy.
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