The 2026 League of Legends World Championship is an upcoming esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends, set to be held in the United States — in Los Angeles, California, Allen, Texas of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and New York City, New York, from 15 October to 14 November. It will be the sixteenth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organised by the game's developer, Riot Games.
It will be the United States' fifth hosting of the tournament, the fourth World Championship to be hosted in Los Angeles and the first since 2016, the third to be staged in New York City after the 2016 and 2022 editions, and the first international League of Legends competition to be held in the state of Texas. Nineteen teams will qualify based on placement within their regional leagues and results gained in the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI).
T1 of the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) are the three-time defending champions.
Host selection In a development update video published on 8 January 2025 to begin that year's competitive season, Riot Games announced that North America will host the 2026 edition of Worlds, with the United States being confirmed as the host country during the media day for the 2025 World Championship Final in Chengdu, China months later on 7 November 2025. Two cities were initially announced to host the tournament - Allen, Texas of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and New York City.
In an interview days before the 2025 World Championship final, Global Head of LoL Esports Chris Greeley stated that the play-in and Swiss stages had been planned to be hosted at the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles, mirroring the setup of the 2024 World Championship held in Europe. However, fans had provided feedback that the Riot Games Arena in Berlin, which hosted the play-in and Swiss stages of the 2024 World Championship was too small. Citing budget and logistical capabilities, Riot decided to move both stages to a "bigger venue" in Texas. On 22 March 2026, Riot announced that due to "logistical challenges," the play-in stage was moved back to the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles will host the play-in stage, while Allen will host the Swiss stage, quarterfinals, and semifinals. Los Angeles is the home city of the League Championship Series (LCS) and the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Americas, while Allen hosted the 2025 League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA) Championship Finals in September of the same year, which was the only finals of the LTA after the announcement of its discontinuation after only one season. New York City will host the Final, becoming the first East Coast city to do so. It previously hosted the semifinals of the 2016 World Championship and the group stage and quarterfinals of the 2022 edition.
Venues Three venues will be used for the tournament. In an article posted by Riot Games on 8 January 2026 to begin the said year's competitive season, it was announced that the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, a northern suburb of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, would host the play-in, Swiss stage, quarterfinals and semifinals. The event center hosted the 2025 LTA Championship finals, one of three weeks of the 2019 Overwatch League Homestand, and the 2024 Call of Duty League Championship. During the finals of the 2026 First Stand Tournament in São Paulo, Brazil on 22 March 2026, Riot Games announced that the play-in stage would instead be hosted in the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles, the home studio of the League Championship Series (LCS).
United States Los Angeles, California Allen, Texas New York City, New YorkPlay-in stageSwiss stageQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals Riot Games Arena Credit Union of Texas Event Center Barclays Center Capacity: 300 Capacity: 8,100 Capacity: 19,000
Qualification
As the top two performing regions at the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational, the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) and the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) qualified four teams to the tournament, including the winners, Hanwha Life Esports. The League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), League Championship Series (LCS), and the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP) qualified three teams each, while the Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (CBLOL) qualified two teams.
CBLOL was initially allotted one slot for the tournament. The initial announcement was met with criticism from local fans, citing CBLOL teams' performances against LCS teams during the 2025 LTA playoffs and the 2026 Americas Cup. The league was awarded another spot in the World Championship on 22 March 2026.
This will be the first World Championship to feature teams from the LCS and CBLOL since the 2024 edition, following the split of the League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA) region in September 2025.
Qualified teams Team Secret Whales of the LCP became the first team to qualify for the tournament on 2 August 2026 by securing enough championship points to finish at least in the top three in said category. Days later, Bilibili Gaming of the LPL confirmed its slot in the event, also through assuring of at least a top two finish in championship points. On 15 August, 2026 Mid-Season Invitational winners Hanwha Life Esports of the LCK officially qualified for the World Championship through its qualification for the LCK Playoffs. Between 22 and 29 August, the LCP became the first region to complete its slate of qualified teams, with MVK Esports and CTBC Flying Oyster qualifying for the tournament. Defending world champions T1 and Gen.G confirmed their qualification on 1 September, with Dplus KIA completing the list of the LCK's representatives at the tournament three days later.
On 5 September, G2 Esports and Karmine Corp became the first two qualified teams from the LEC. On 12 September, Anyone's Legend confirmed its qualification from the LPL. On 17 September, Top Esports of the LPL secured their spot in the tournament, with Movistar KOI being the last LEC team to qualify the following day. On 19 September, Invictus Gaming completed the LPL's slate of representatives at the tournament, and Cloud9 KIA became the first LCS team to qualify hours later. The next day, Team Liquid Alienware of the LCS advanced to the event. On 26 September, LYON became the last team of the LCS to confirm its qualification, with Los Grandes being the first CBLOL team to qualify the following day. FURIA of the CBLOL rounded out the list of qualified teams on 3 October.
This will be the first World Championship appearance for the LEC's Karmine Corp and the CBLOL's Los Grandes and FURIA. Meanwhile, it is the first tournament for the LCP's MVK Esports under its current name, as it rebranded from MGN Vikings Esports prior to the 2026 season. The team was previously known as Vikings Esports when it last competed at the tournament during the 2024 edition. LYON of the LCS will also make its first appearance at the World Championship under its current name and its current league, having been known as Movistar R7 when it last appeared at the tournament in 2024 representing the now-defunct Liga Latinoamérica (LLA). The team joined the LCS when the league's teams was then part the Northern Conference of the League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA), before the revert back to the LCS during the 2026 season.
The teams that qualified for the event are: RegionLeagueQualification PathTeamStarting from Swiss stage BrazilSouthern Latin America CBLOL Split 2 Champion TBD South Korea LCK Season Champion Gen.G Season Runner-up2026 Mid-Season Invitational Winner Hanwha Life Esports Season 3rd Place T1 Season 4th Place Dplus KIA Asia-Pacific LCP Split 3 Champion Team Secret Whales Split 3 Runner-up CTBC Flying Oyster North AmericaNorthern Latin America LCS Summer Champion Team Liquid Alienware Summer Runner-up LYON EMEA LEC Summer Champion G2 Esports Summer Runner-up Movistar KOI China LPL Split 3 Champion Anyone's Legend Championship Points Bilibili Gaming Regional Qualifiers 3rd Seed Playoff Winner Top Esports Regional Qualifiers 4th Seed Playoff Winner Invictus GamingStarting from Play-in stage BrazilSouthern Latin America CBLOL Split 2 Runner-up Los GrandesFURIA Asia-Pacific LCP Championship Points MVK Esports North AmericaNorthern Latin America LCS Summer 3rd Place Cloud9 KIA EMEA LEC Summer 3rd Place Karmine Corp
Format Following the expansion of the tournament to 19 teams, the format was changed. Four (4) teams will qualify for the play-in stage, which is a double-elimination best-of-five bracket. The winner of the play-in stage will qualify for the tournament's swiss stage. Sixteen (16) teams compete in the Swiss stage, where the first eight (8) teams to achieve three (3) wins will advance to the knockout stage, which is a single-elimination bracket. All matches in the knockout stage are expected to be best-of-fives.
The World Championship is expected to use the Fearless Draft format, where champions that have been played by either team become unavailable for both teams for the remainder of the series. Fearless Draft is expected to be used for all best-of-3 and best-of-5 series during the World Championship.
Play-in stage The draw for the play-in stage will be held on 10 October 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil after the CBLOL Split 2 finals. Venue: Riot Games Arena, Los Angeles, California Date and time: 15–18 October, matches start at 11:00 PDT (18:00 UTC) Four teams placed in a GSL-style double-elimination format Teams: 2nd seed from CBLOL; 3rd seed from LCP, LCS, and LEC
Bracket
Swiss stage The Swiss stage will be held from 23–31 October at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, a suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Matches will start on the following times (UTC-5): 23–26 & 31 October: 12:00 CDT (17:00 UTC) 28–30 October: 15:00 CDT (20:00 UTC) Sixteen teams will compete in a Swiss-system format over five rounds. Teams that achieve three wins will advance to the knockout stage, while those with three losses will be eliminated. In the first two rounds, all games will be best-of-ones, while succeeding rounds had all matches as best-of-threes, except for the 1–1 matches.
Draw A draw will take place after every round to determine each team's next opponent. For the first round, teams will be drawn based on seeding, but will be drawn based on record for succeeding rounds. Teams were divided into the following pools for the first swiss stage draw:
Pool 1 Gen.G Anyone's Legend Team Liquid Alienware G2 Esports
Pool 2 Team Secret Whales Los Grandes/LOUD Hanwha Life Esports Bilibili Gaming
Pool 3 LYON Movistar KOI T1 Top Esports
Pool 4 CTBC Flying Oyster Invictus Gaming Dplus KIA Play-in Stage winner
In the first round, no two teams from the same region could face each other, while for succeeding rounds, teams cannot rematch against each other but could be paired with a team from the same region. The winner of the play-in stage will be assigned to Pool 4.
Bracket
Round 1
Knockout stage The quarterfinals and semifinals will take place from 3–8 November at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, a suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Matches will start at 16:00 CST (22:00 UTC). After the conclusion of the Swiss stage, a draw will be conducted to determine the quarterfinal matches, where two teams that finished the Swiss stage with a 3–0 record will be placed on opposite sides of the bracket and will face teams with a 3–2 record in the quarterfinals, while all remaining teams will be seeded randomly.
New York City will host the final on 14 November at 14:00 EST (19:00 UTC) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Bracket
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
Marketing Official song