Winners always leave their mark on competitions through their successes. In the case of League of Legends, especially those who triumph at Worlds, the MOBA’s Riot Games’ premier tournament.
This international event, one of the most popular in the entire esports sector, has been held continuously – even amidst a pandemic – since 2011.
Throughout history, there have been numerous champions: Europeans kicking off the festivities, unexpected surprises, eras of domination split between South Korea and China… Here are all the champions in the history of Riot’s most important tournament.
2011: Fnatic
The League of Legends community has debated the legitimacy of the 2011 Worlds, but Riot Games has always officially validated it. Fnatic was the first Worlds champion in a much more discreet edition held in Sweden.
Among the winners is one of Spain’s gaming legends: xPeke. The Murcian remains the only national player to have conquered the tournament, but in that edition, he did it in the top lane. The mid lane was occupied by Shushei, the tournament’s best player.
- Enrique “xPeke” Cedeño
- Lauri “Cyanide” Happonen
- Maciej “Shushei” Ratuszniak
- Manuel “LaMiaZeaLoT” Mildenberger
- Peter “Mellisan” Meisrimel
2012: Taipei Assassins
The second Worlds saw unexpected surprises. League of Legends was already much more popular, and the world was divided between two teams: Azubu Frost from South Korea and Moscow 5 from Russia.
M5 had revolutionized the global meta, laying foundations that still endure to this day. However, Taipei Assassins completed the Cinderella story by defeating both teams. The team’s marksman, Bebe, popularized the blue build with Ezreal.
- Wang “Stanley” June-Tsan
- Sung “Lilballz” Kuan-Po
- Lau “Toyz” Wai Kin
- Chang “BeBe” Bo-Wei
- Chen “MiSTakE” Hui-Chung
2013: SK Telecom T1
2013 was the year when the greatest player in League of Legends history, Faker, made his debut. He arrived at Worlds after his famous Zed play against Ryu “Ryu” Sang-wook, and the tournament showcased the individual skill level of all players.
Only NaJin Black Sword managed to challenge SK Telecom T1 in the semifinals, as the Demon King’s team triumphed with a close 3-2 victory. Even Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao couldn’t stop Faker and the rest of the team.
- Jeong “Impact” Eon-young
- Bae “Bengi” Seong-woong
- Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok
- Chae “Piglet” Gwang-jin
- Lee “PoohManDu” Jeong-hyeon
- Coach: Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun
2014: Samsung Galaxy White
The winners of the 2014 Worlds will be remembered for bringing a significant advancement to League of Legends. Samsung Galaxy White boasted individual talent with players like imp, but what set them apart was their creation of the vision systems that League of Legends still relies on today.
The South Korean team demonstrated that map vision ensured superiority on Summoner’s Rift, maximizing it with their jungle-support duo. Mata became the first support in history to win the tournament’s MVP award.
- Jang “Looper” Hyeong-seok
- Choi “DanDy” In-kyu
- Heo “PawN” Won-seok
- Gu “imp” Seung-bin
- Cho “Mata” Se-hyeong
2015: SK Telecom T1
SK Telecom T1’s second Worlds victory came as a response to past disappointments. They missed the previous year’s tournament, and in 2015, they lost the Mid–Season Invitational (MSI) final against EDward Gaming.
All of this fueled one of the most dominant performances in history. The Demon King continued to showcase his status as the world’s best player, but the MVP award went to MaRin, who was in top form throughout the tournament, dominating the top lane.
- Jang “MaRin” Gyeong-hwan
- Bengi
- Faker
- Lee “Easyhoon” Ji-hoon
- Bae “Bang” Jun-sik
- Lee “Wolf” Jae-wan
- Coach: kkOma
2016: SK Telecom T1
SK Telecom T1‘s third Worlds victory showcased the club’s mystique in international tournaments. Faker’s team played two of the most beautiful series in League of Legends history during that tournament: the semifinals against ROX Tigers and the final against Samsung Galaxy.
They triumphed in both with a 3-2 scoreline, with the Demon King being the indisputable best player of the tournament, the world, and history. Despite the drama surrounding MaRin’s departure at the end of 2015, Duke provided assurances that made the South Korean team more complete.
- Lee “Duke” Ho-seong
- Bengi
- Kang “Blank” Sun-gu
- Faker
- Bang
- Wolf
- Coach: kkOma
2017: Samsung Galaxy
The winners of the 2017 Worlds created one of the most emotional moments in League of Legends history: making Faker cry. Samsung Galaxy benefited from the meta, which forced teams to play in the bottom lane. In contrast, SK Telecom T1 relied heavily on the Demon King.
In the final, Samsung prioritized Malzahar to deny the opposing mid laner. From there, they demonstrated why Riot Games’ MOBA is a team game, securing the second Summoner’s Cup for the club and handing the greatest player in history his first defeat in a Worlds series.
- Lee “CuVee” Seong-jin
- Kang “Ambition” Chan-yong
- Kang “Haru” Min-seung
- Lee “Crown” Min-ho
- Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk
- Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in
- Coach: Choi “Edgar” Woo-beom
2018: Invictus Gaming
2018 marked a paradigm shift. After many years of South Korean dominance, China finally won its first Worlds after a hard-fought battle.
The League of Legends Pro League (LPL) claimed its first Summoner’s Cup in South Korea, adding more bitterness to their vengeance. Interestingly, the two standout players of the tournament for their individual performances were two local talents: TheShy and Rookie.
- Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok
- Duke
- Gao “Ning” Zhen-Ning
- Song “Rookie” Eui-jin
- Yu “JackeyLove” Wen-Bo
- Wang “Baolan” Liu-Yi
- Coach: Kim Jeong-soo
2019: FunPlus Phoenix
After TheShy and Rookie’s display in Invictus Gaming, FunPlus Phoenix also emulated cruelty the following year. However, they did it in Europe, against G2 Esports.
The samurais had the chance to become the first club in history to achieve the Grand Slam, but FunPlus dominated the final with a convincing 3-0 victory. Their creativity in generating advantages with the mid-jungle duo went down in history, especially considering Doinb’s amusing array of champions.
- Kim “GimGoon” Han-saem
- Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang
- Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang
- Lin “Lwx” Wei-Xiang
- Liu “Crisp” Qing-Song
- Coach: Chen “WarHorse” Ju-Chih
2020: DAMWON Gaming
In 2020, DAMWON Gaming triumphed without facing any real opposition. The Worlds tournament was lackluster not because of the action on Summoner’s Rift, but because the coronavirus pandemic prevented fans from enjoying League of Legends up close.
Canyon and ShowMaker put on a show on how to play through the jungle, bringing the Worlds title back to South Korea three years later.
- Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon
- Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu
- Heo “ShowMaker” Su
- Jang “Ghost” Yong-jun
- Shin “Nuclear” Jeong-hyeon
- Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee
- Coaches: Lee “Zefa” Jae-min and Yang “Daeny” Dae-in
2021: EDward Gaming
China won another Worlds, but perhaps it wasn’t until 2021 that it experienced the most intense victory to date.
EDward Gaming, the most decorated club in the country’s history, denied DAMWON Gaming their second Summoner’s Cup to achieve the coveted Worlds victory after so many years. With this title, EDG now has all possible trophies in their cabinet, something Meiko can also boast of.
- Li “Flandre” Xuanjun
- Zhao “JieJie” Li-Jie
- Lee “Scout” Ye-chan
- Park “Viper” Do-hyeon
- Tian “Meiko” Ye
- Coaches: Zhu “KenZhu” Kai and Yang “Maokai” Ji-Song
2022: DRX
The winners of the 2022 Worlds completed the greatest miracle ever seen in League of Legends history. For the first time ever, a Play–In team lifted the Summoner’s Cup.
DRX prevailed against all odds against renowned clubs like EDward Gaming, Gen.G, and T1 in the final. Deft completed his personal circle with the Worlds victory, accompanied by key players like Kingen, the final’s MVP, or Zeka, considered by many to be the best player of the tournament for his Akali and Sylas performances.
- Hwang “Kingen” Seong-hoon
- Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon
- Lee “Juhan” Ju-han
- Kim “Zeka” Geon-woo
- Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu
- Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee
- Coaches: Kim “Ssong” Sang-soo and Lee “Mowgli” Jae-ha
Current Champions: T1
Following the disappointment of the previous Worlds, T1 redeemed themselves the following year. With a solid 3-0 victory over Weibo Gaming in the final, Faker won his fourth Summoner’s Cup.
This time, as captain, not just the team’s exclusive star. The South Korean team bounced back from losing the League of Legends Championship Korea (LCK) Summer Split final, adapted better than anyone to the meta, and delivered the coveted international title to a project that, had they not won, could have spelled the end.
- Choi “Zeus” Woo-je
- Mun “Oner” Hyeon-jun
- Faker
- Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong
- Ryu “Keria” Min-seok
- Coaches: Im “Tom” Jae-hyeon and Kim “Roach” Kang-hee