All major League of Legends tournaments in Southeast Asia

League of Legends, Riot Games’ flagship title, is one of the most celebrated video games in the world both for casual gamers and competitive players. It has a strong following in Southeast Asia on both levels with every nation hosting local esports tournaments for it. 

Southeast Asia considers League of Legends esports as among its best industries with large companies investing in teams or events. Although the region already participates in the World Championship, it also hosts major tournaments that are all worth tuning in to for watching top-tier matches. Here’s a quick guide on what the League of Legends esports is like in Southeast Asia.

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Two League of Legends video game titles in Southeast Asia

Riot Games is a publisher that aims to branch out on multiple platforms. Rather than making new properties for different audiences, they expanded their flagship title by creating different versions of it for varying types of players. Thus, there are two known versions of League of Legends and both of which are popular in Southeast Asia.

League of Legends (LoL)

The original League of Legends, known as LoL, was released on the PC in 2009. Most of the players in Southeast Asia can be found in computer shops where players rent desktops to play games. Southeast Asia League of Legends esports follows the same schedule as the rest of the world with a series of events leading up to the World Championship. 

League of Legends: Wild Rift (WR)

Wild Rift will be released in Southeast Asia only in September 2020. It’s the mobile game version of  LoL that quickly found its home among most gamers’ smartphones in the region. Despite its late arrival compared to its Chinese and South Korean releases, SEA League of Legends managed to be the second-strongest region in Wild Rift esports.

Southeast Asian Games and Asian Games

What makes the Asia League of Legends esports scene crucial for Riot Games is the continent’s independent investment in the game. The most important among these events is the Southeast Asia Games (SEA Games), a biennial multi-sport event similar to the Olympics but exclusive to SEA nations. 

Though traditionally a sports event, it has included esports among its medal games since 2019. League of Legends and Wild Rift were added in 2021 with a men's and women’s division for each title. It’s one of the most important moments in South East Asia League of Legends that brought attention to the region from esports fans all over the world. 

Southeast Asian teams also participate in the much grander event known as the Asian Games, a quadrennial multi-sport event. The Asia Games League of Legends schedule changes from time to time with an off chance that it can be removed in the next running of the event. 

World Championship divisions in Southeast Asia

The highlight of LoL tournaments is the World Championship kicking off in September and ending in November every year. A majority of the months prior to that have teams from every region participating in major tournaments local to each region to qualify for a seed at the main event. There are two kinds of League of Legends tournaments in Southeast Asia that count as two separate servers overall:

Vietnam Championship Series (VCS)

While Vietnam counts as a Southeast Asian country both geographically and categorically in most sports/esports, they managed to be an independent region in LoL since 2018. This ensures that they always have a better chance to qualify for Worlds with their own seed positions. The VCS is one of the most competitive Southeast Asia League of Legends Championships because of Vietnam’s consistent dominance in tournaments vs its neighbours.

Pacific Championship Series (PCS)

The rest of the Southeast Asian nations compete for the same Worlds seeding positions at PCS. This tournament is shared with Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao which are all East Asian nations. 

Before the main event involving the latter three, the League of Legends South East Asia standings first needs to settle to select a few representatives for that region. Thus, major events prior to the PCS were held between SEA teams. Southeast Asia League of Legends championships adds to the long list of major LoL esports tournaments to watch prior to Worlds.

All-Star Events (ASE)

After the World Championships, Riot Games helped host a friendly competition called All-Stars Events hosted in December. It’s an event meant to be the transition to the new seasons where the best players in each region are voted to join that server’s representing team. Asia All-Stars League of Legends rosters separate SEA from the rest of the PCS, giving them a smaller roster to choose from. 

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Southeast Asia Icon Series 

Wild Rift has its own global championship tournament established in 2022, a year after the game was released in Southeast Asia. Although it’s on mobile, Wild Rift esports is still recognised as a top-tier competitive gaming scene. Thus, Icons is among the most highly anticipated League of Legends Asia games to date.

Frequently asked questions

League of Legends is undoubtedly big in Asia but how big or why are the usual questions most people want answered. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about the title’s relevance in the region:

Why is League of Legends big in Asia?

League of Legends PC and Wild Rift are both seen as secure industries for different careers. Many can find employment to join major events as stadium staff, team managers, and content creators related to one of the world’s most popular video game titles. The most popular career path is to be a pro player. Reaching even just the League of Legends Asia Playoffs can guarantee enough exposure to give a pro gamer to be recognised by team scouts.

Why is League of Legends so popular in Asia?

The biggest contributor to LoL’s success in the largest continent in the world is accessibility. LoL is free, has a low system demand, and available in almost every computer shop which is a rather popular business in Asia. It also helps that local teams find great success in international competitions which, in turn, contributed to the success of the League of Legends Asia tournament. 

How well is Southeast Asia faring against other countries?

Southeast Asia doesn’t fare well in the Mid-Season Invitational or World Championship. These tournaments are currently dominated by Chinese, South Korean, European, and North American teams most of the time. However, Southeast Asia is the second-strongest region in Wild Rift after China. This is thanks to the region’s long history in mobile esports like in the aforementioned SEA Games. 

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Words: Clarence Clarke