The 2026 LEC season was the 14th season of the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), a professional esports league for the video game League of Legends. It was the first LEC season since 2018, then known as the European League Championship Series (EU LCS), to feature teams from the Tier 2 EMEA Regional Leagues (ERLs), as two teams were invited to compete in the league's first split.
The season began on 17 January and ended on 20 September.
League changes First split On 23 October 2025, the LEC announced that the Winter Split would be removed and will be replaced with the "LEC Versus" tournament, featuring the ten (10) LEC partner teams and two (2) EMEA Regional League (ERL) teams. The two invited teams will only compete in the said event but not in the Spring and Summer splits, as they will be returning to their respective leagues after the tournament.
Teams For the LEC Versus event, twelve teams competed. Aside from the ten (10) LEC teams, two (2) EMEA Regional League (ERL) teams were invited. One of which was Karmine Corp Blue (academy team of Karmine Corp) of the Ligue Française de League of Legends (LFL) as the 2025 EMEA Masters Summer Split champions. The other invited team was Los Ratones of the Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC), founded and coached by former LEC player and caster Marc "Caedrel" Lamont, as the best performing team across the ERLs during the 2025 EMEA Masters season. Both teams were eligible to qualify for the 2026 First Stand Tournament in Brazil.
On 15 December 2025, Team BDS rebranded to Shifters. BDS announced a change of brand identity in June 2025, following the hiring of Alexandre Lopez as their new CEO to replace team founder Patrice Bailo De Spoelberch. De Spoelberch was removed from his position in November 2024 following a now-deleted post on X that criticized women who underwent abortion.
Formats Both the Spring and Summer splits will follow the same format, removing the groups format from the 2025 Summer split.
Road shows Some games of the 2026 season were held outside of the Riot Games Arena in Berlin. On 15 January 2026, the LEC announced six events of the "LEC Roadtrip" across Spain and France hosted by Movistar KOI and Karmine Corp, respectively. Barcelona would host the LEC Versus Finals Weekend from 27 February–1 March at the Olimpic Arena, while Madrid would stage two events at the Madrid Arena from 8–10 May for the Spring Split and from 5–6 September for the Summer Split. Paris will also host two events: one from 24–26 April at the Les Arènes for the Spring Split and one from 24–26 July at the Adidas Arena for the Summer Split.
The 2026 LEC Summer Split Finals Weekend will be held at the Palais Nikaïa in Nice, France from 18–20 September.
LEC Versus Format The LEC Versus event featured twelve (12) teams competing in a single-round robin tournament where all matches were played in best-of-ones. The top eight (8) teams qualified for the playoffs, which will be an eight-team Double-elimination tournament bracket. Matches in the first two upper and lower rounds were contested in best-of-threes, while subsequent matches until the finals were played in best-of-fives. The winner of the LEC Versus event represented the league as its lone representative at the 2026 First Stand Tournament.
Regular season Venue: Riot Games Arena, Berlin, Germany
Playoffs Venues: Riot Games Arena, Berlin, Germany Olimpic Arena, Barcelona, Spain
Awards Award Player TeamFinals MVP Caps G2 Esports
Spring Format The Spring Split featured the ten (10) LEC partner teams, where they competed in a single-round robin tournament where all matches were played in best-of-threes. The top six (6) teams advanced to the playoffs. The playoffs were contested in a Double-elimination tournament bracket, where the top (4) teams in the standings being seeded in the upper round and the next two (2) teams in the lower round. All matches were played in best-of-fives. The finalists of the Spring Split qualified for the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational, with the split winner advancing directly to the bracket stage and the runner-up advancing to the play-in round.
Regular season Venues: Riot Games Arena, Berlin, Germany Madrid Arena, Madrid, Spain Les Arènes, Paris, France
Playoffs Venue: Riot Games Arena, Berlin, Germany
Awards Most Valuable Player: Naak Nako, Team Vitality Finals MVP: SkewMond, G2 Esports
1st All-Pro Team: Naak Nako, Team Vitality SkewMond, G2 Esports Jojopyun, Movistar KOI Caliste, Karmine Corp Busio, Karmine Corp
2nd All-Pro Team: Canna, Karmine Corp Yike, Karmine Corp Caps, G2 Esports Hans Sama, G2 Esports Fleshy, Team Vitality
3rd All-Pro Team: BrokenBlade, G2 Esports Lyncas, Team Vitality kyeahoo, Karmine Corp Carzzy, Team Vitality Labrov, G2 Esports
Summer Format Unlike the previous season, the Summer split followed the Spring format, where the same ten (10) competing teams faced each other in a single-round robin tournament of best-of-three matches. The top six (6) teams advanced to the playoffs, applying the same format and team seeding principles as the Spring split. All playoff matches were played in best-of-fives, with the top three (3) teams in the playoffs securing qualification for the 2026 League of Legends World Championship.
Regular season Venues: Riot Games Arena, Berlin, Germany Adidas Arena, Paris, France
Playoffs Venues: Riot Games Arena, Berlin, Germany Madrid Arena, Madrid, Spain Palais Nikaïa, Nice, France
Awards Most Valuable Player: Caliste, Karmine Corp Finals MVP: Labrov, G2 Esports
All-Pro First Place: Canna, Karmine Corp Yike, Karmine Corp kyeahoo, Karmine Corp Caliste, Karmine Corp Busio, Karmine Corp
All-Pro Second Place: Naak Nako, Team Vitality SkewMond, G2 Esports Caps, G2 Esports Hans Sama, G2 Esports Labrov, G2 Esports
All-Pro Third Place: BrokenBlade, G2 Esports Rhilech, Natus Vincere Jojopyun, Movistar KOI Carzzy, Team Vitality Jun, GIANTX
References