Riot Games unveils new Wild Rift regional leagues and Icons Global Championship

07 January 2022

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Game developer Riot Games has announced a myriad of details surrounding its first official Wild Rift Esports season.

Some of these details include the introduction of eight new regional leagues and Wild Rift’s first official global tournament, set to take place in the summer of 2022 in Europe. The tournament, called the Wild Rift Icons Global Championship, will feature 24 teams from around the world. 

Image credit: Riot Games

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After a successful 2021, Riot Games is setting its sights on growing the competitive landscape of Wild Rift. As such the developer has announced eight regions and championships for the inaugural Wild Rift season.

These are Wild Rift Champions Korea, Wild Rift League China, Wild Rift Champions SEA, the Wild Rift Cup Japan, Wild Rift Championship EMEA, the Wild Rift North America Series, Wild Rift Latinoamerica Open and Wild Tour Brasil. 

The Wild Rift season will follow a similar flow to its PC adaptation, with a number of regional leagues feeding into a world championship tournament. 

Leo Faria, Global Head of Wild Rift Esports, explained in a video: “Regional competitions will run from January to May, featuring the best teams in unique leagues and tournaments around the globe. Regional champions will then qualify for our first official global tournament, the Wild Rift Icons Global Championship, which will take place this summer in Europe. 

“The tournament will feature 24 teams; eight qualifying straight from regional competitions and 16 battling through the play-in stage.”

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RELATED: Inaugural Wild Rift international event set to take place in Singapore

League of Legends: Wild Rift has proven to be a popular mobile title in the first year since its release. In 2021, Riot Games launched a number of competitions across a multitude of regions, ranging from LATAM to SEA and Europe. The first global event for Wild Rift, the Wild Rift Horizon Cup, took place in Singapore last November.

Esports Insider says: Riot Games is going strong into 2022. After announcing a detailed competitive plan for VALORANT late in 2021, we now have more details about Wild Rift, Riot’s answer to the growing popularity of mobile esports titles. Riot knows how to set up regional leagues and big tournaments, so it’s safe to say Wild Rift has an interesting season ahead.

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