The 2026 LCP season was the second season of the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP), an Asia-Pacific esports league for the video game League of Legends by developer Riot Games and tournament organizer Carry International. It consisted of eight teams participating in three splits, with each split qualifying teams to three international tournaments. The season began on 16 January and ended on 30 August.
League changes Championship points Starting in 2026, the LCP will utilize the championship points system in determining the second team to qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational and the third team to qualify for the League of Legends World Championship.
Playoff matches and side selection Unlike the league's inaugural season where the first few playoff series were best-of-threes, all playoff matches in 2026 will be contested in best-of-five series. Side selection during the first game of each series will now be decided by a duos match as opposed to one-on-one solo matches from the previous season.
Teams Three team changes occurred heading into the 2026 season. Chiefs Esports Club of Australia, one of the guest teams that participated in the 2025 LCP season, was relegated after losing to Deep Cross Gaming of Taiwan from the Pacific Championship Series (PCS) in the finals of the league's promotion and relegation free-for-all bracket. MGN Vikings Esports of Vietnam retained its spot in the league after beating Saigon Dino of the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) in the regional merit match.
Prior to the start of the 2026 season, MGN Vikings Esports rebranded to MVK Esports and Deep Cross Gaming entered into a title sponsorship with Taiwanese care brand Relove. The team renamed to Relove Deep Cross Gaming.
On 18 November 2025, Riot Games announced that PSG Talon of Taiwan, one of the four LCP partners, was removed from the league, with Riot citing financial issues as the main reason why they were removed. This came after reports surfaced of the organization failing to pay their players and staff in a timely manner. Talon noted in a statement that these issues came from funding delays stemming from their most recent financing round. On 22 December, Riot Games announced that Ground Zero Gaming of Taiwan (formerly of Australia) would replace PSG Talon in the LCP for 2026 as a guest team, with Ground Zero required to field a roster from the PCS region.
Guest teams Five guest teams will compete in the 2026 season – Deep Cross Gaming and Ground Zero Gaming from Taiwan, Team Secret Whales and MVK Esports from Vietnam, and DetonatioN FocusMe from Japan. Up to three teams with the least amount of championship points will compete in a promotion and relegation tournament against the top teams from the Tier 2 leagues (currently consisting of the PCS, VCS, LJL and a "Wild Card" spot) based on their location.
Split 1 Format Split 1 featured all eight (8) teams competing in a single-round robin tournament where all matches were played in best-of-threes, with the top six (6) teams qualifying for the playoffs. The playoffs were a hybrid double elimination bracket with best-of-five matches, with the winner of Split 1 qualifying to represent the league as its lone representative at the 2026 First Stand Tournament.
Regular season Venue: LCP Arena, Taipei, Taiwan
Qualifying Series As the highest-ranked team in Round 1, GAM Esports had the chance to select their opponents. Team Secret Whales also earned the right to select their opponents in Round 2 being the top seed. Bracket Venue: LCP Arena, Taipei, Taiwan
Awards Award Player TeamFinals MVP Dire Team Secret WhalesTeam of the Split Evi SoftBank Hawks Hizto Team Secret Whales Dire Eddie ShiauC Relove Deep Cross Gaming
Split 2 Format Similar to Split 1, Split 2 had the same eight (8) teams competing in a single-round robin tournament where all matches were played in best-of-threes. The top six (6) teams qualified for the playoffs, applying a hybrid double-elimination bracket as with Split 1. All playoff matches were played in best-of-fives, with the winner of Split 2 qualifying for the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational as the region's first seed. The second team to qualify for MSI 2026 from the LCP was the team with the most number of championship points at the end of Split 2, and was being the region's second seed. Playoff seeding principles is also similar to Split 1.
Regular season Venue: LCP Arena, Taipei, Taiwan
Qualifying Series As the highest-ranked team in Round 1, MVK Esports had the chance to select their opponents. Team Secret Whales also earned the right to select their opponents in Round 2 being the top seed. Bracket Venue: LCP Arena, Taipei, Taiwan
Awards Award Player TeamFinals MVPHizto Team Secret WhalesSeason MVPTeam of the Split Flauren Relove Deep Cross Gaming Hizto Team Secret Whales HongSuo Relove Deep Cross Gaming Eddie Team Secret Whales Bie
Split 3 Format The third split will follow a Swiss stage format consisting of best-of-three matches for the first two rounds and the 1–1 bracket, and best-of-five matches for qualification and elimination series. The teams that win three matches first will secure their spot in the playoffs, but seeding will be determined by a series of best-of-five seeding matches.
In between the 2–1 and 1–2 brackets, the team that lost in the 2–0 match will face the team that won in the 0–2 match. The outcome of the said series will have an impact in the final Swiss stage round and in the seeding matches for the playoffs, with the following scenarios:
If the loser of the 2–1 match wins against the winner of the 1–2 match, that team will advance to the playoffs while the other team will be eliminated, and only one 2–2 bracket match will be played. In seeding matches for the playoffs, the two teams that finished 3–1 will face off in a series, with the loser automatically earning the third seed. The winner of said series will go up against the team that finished with a 3–0 record, with the winner earning the first seed and the loser getting the second seed. The team that finished with a 3–2 record will automatically secure the fourth seed. In addition, the two teams that were eliminated will also contest a seeding match, with the winner earning five (5) championship points. If the winner of the 1–2 match wins against the loser of the 2–1 match, both teams will advance to the 2–2 bracket, which will have two matches. In seeding matches for the playoffs, the team that finished with a 3–0 record will face the team that finished with a 3–1 record, with the winner securing the first seed and the loser getting the second seed. The two teams that were eliminated in the 2–2 bracket will also contest a seeding match, with the winner earning five (5) championship points.
The playoffs will be a double-elimination format, with all matches played in best-of-fives. The finalists of Split 3 will qualify for the 2026 League of Legends World Championship, with the Season Champion earning the first seed. The team that had the most number of championship points at the end of the season will also earn their spot in the tournament as the third seed.
Draw For the first round of the Swiss stage, the top four (4) teams from the previous split will be drawn against the bottom four (4) teams. Teams with the same win-loss record will be drawn against each other in subsequent rounds, but teams are not allowed to play each other twice unless no other option is available.
1st draw pool SoftBank Hawks CTBC Flying Oyster Ground Zero Gaming DetonatioN FocusMe
2nd draw pool Team Secret Whales Relove Deep Cross Gaming GAM Esports MVK Esports
Swiss stage
Seeding matches
Playoffs Venues: LCP Arena, Taipei, Taiwan Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium, Taipei, Taiwan (Lower Bracket Final and Finals)
Awards Most Valuable Player: Hizto, Team Secret Whales Finals MVP: Hizto, Team Secret Whales
All-Pros First Team: Pun, Team Secret Whales Hizto, Team Secret Whales Dire, Team Secret Whales Doggo, CTBC Flying Oyster Bie, Team Secret Whales
All-Pros Second Team: Kiaya, GAM Esports Shad0w, CTBC Flying Oyster Pout, CTBC Flying Oyster Eddie, Team Secret Whales Taki, GAM Esports
All-Pros Third Team: 1Jiang, Ground Zero Gaming Gury, MVK Esports Chika, MVK Esports Harky, MVK Esports Kino, CTBC Flying Oyster
Championship points Throughout the season, teams can gain championship points based on performance in their league. At the end of Splits 2 and 3, the teams with the most points that has't qualified through the playoffs will earn a spot at the following international event.
MSI 2026 qualification
World Championship qualification
Promotion and relegation The promotion and relegation phase is a series of matches deciding promotion and relegation for teams into the 2027 LCP season. A total of seven teams will take part in the Promotion Tournament – one each from the Pacific Championship Series (PCS), Vietnam Championship Series (VCS), and the League of Legends Japan League (LJL), the winners of both the FLASH Oceania and the LCP Wild Card Playoffs, and two guest teams from the 2026 LCP season depending on their championship points.
For the LCP Wild Card Playoffs, four teams qualified through winning their respective tournaments that served as qualifiers for the event – one each from the Indonesia/Malaysia/Singapore Qualifier, Philippines Qualifier, Thailand Qualifier, and the Regional Last Chance Qualifier.
Qualified teams If a domestic team that would be in the Promotion Tournament is an academy team of a current LCP team, they cannot participate. The spot then goes to the highest-ranked non-academy team from that league. Promotion Tournament League/TournamentTeamPathLeague of Legends Championship Pacific DetonatioN FocusMeGuest teams Ground Zero Gaming League of Legends Japan League FENNEL Summer Championship winner Pacific Championship Series Frank Esports Summer split runner-up Vietnam Championship Series Saigon Warriors Finals Stage 2 finalist FLASH Oceania Team Gromp Season Champion LCP Wild Card Playoffs Winner
LCP Wild Card Playoffs Bold – indicates team that won the tournament. TournamentTeam Indonesia/Malaysia/Singapore Qualifier Essences Philippines Qualifier West Point Esports Thailand Qualifier Nothin'Here Regional Last Chance Qualifier PART TIMERS
Format LCP Wild Card Playoffs The four teams competed in a double elimination bracket with best-of-five matches, and side selection was decided in a two-on-two match. The winner of the finals qualified for the LCP Promotion Tournament.
Promotion Tournament The seven teams will contest two guest spots, with each spot being determined differently. One slot is determined through the Free-For-All bracket, where five teams will compete in a single-elimination bracket, with all matches being contested in best-of-fives. Another slot is contested through the Regional Merit match, where two teams will compete in a single best-of-five series. The winner of the Free-For-All bracket and the winner of the Regional Merit match will qualify as guest teams for the 2027 LCP season.
Teams that contested in the Free-For-All bracket cannot contest in Regional Merit.
LCP Wild Card Playoffs
Promotion Tournament All matches will be held at the VPS Arena in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Regional Merit
Free-For-All Bracket
References