The
2026 League of Legends World Championship will take place in the
United States from October 15 to November 14, with the same four Chinese teams as last year set to represent the
LoL Pro League (LPL):
as the first seed,
as the second seed,
as the third seed, and
as the fourth seed.
All four teams will look to bring China back to the top of the world at Worlds, as the region
has not lifted the trophy since
EDward Gaming defeated DWG KIA in the 2021 final in Iceland. The Chinese teams enter this year's tournament with varying chances of going all the way, ranging from title favorites to outsiders and underdogs. Here is an overview of all four teams.
Invictus Gaming, The Tireless Ones
For the second consecutive year, IG have qualified for Worlds as the fourth seed. This time, though, the road ahead may be a little easier for the
2018 World Champions. Despite being the last team to qualify, format changes mean the squad will enter directly into the Main Event, unlike in 2025, when they had to fight through a
grueling best-of-five against Korea’s fourth seed,
, who went on to win the tournament.
And while IG’s roster features four of the five players who represented the team at last year’s Worlds, the team saw numerous changes across nearly all roles throughout the year. Ultimately, the returns of
and
for the Summer Split proved decisive in saving the team's season. During the Summer Split,
—the team’s only new member from last year—and
also developed a degree of synergy, proving a major element of the team’s resurgence. Still, considering recent form, it remains to be seen whether they will make a deep run at Worlds, with all signs indicating that their odds appear slim.
Top Esports, A Need for Redemption
TES have also had a difficult year, and their Worlds campaign will likely be no easier. After finishing in
a tie for seventh place in the Summer Split, the team was saved by
championship points, which allowed them to compete in the
Regional Finals. There, they managed to take down Invictus Gaming and secure their ticket back to Worlds, much to the dismay of Chinese fans.
However, with just a few days to go before the start of the event, Top Esports has
found itself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The team was originally supposed to rely on one of the region's best toplaners,
, but visa issues mean they will instead have to turn to
, who has
not played a competitive match since March. With further
rumors surrounding the coaching staff's chances of making it to Worlds, getting excited about Top Esports seems like a fool's errand.
Bilibili Gaming, Cohesion for the Greater Good
BLG's year has been almost perfect on the domestic stage, with two split titles, a
First Stand title, and a MSI final appearance. However, the main concern surrounding BLG lies in the toplane. No one doubts
's incredible level, but the
drama surrounding the team's toplane position during the Summer Split has raised some questions. Will the legendary toplaner return to form after an underperformance that cost his team the MSI trophy this year? Only time will tell.
Regardless, BLG enter the tournament as perhaps the most hyped LPL team, perhaps even more so than Anyone's Legend, whom they lost to in the finals. China as a whole will have much to prove since, as previously mentioned, the region has not won Worlds in five years and desperately needs a victory to get back on track. If BLG can build team cohesion and develop strong mental fortitude, the Chinese team could very well go all the way and lift the trophy.
Anyone’s Legend, A Pandastic Surprise
When it was least expected, AL and
rose back to the top to claim
their second LPL title. The pandas shocked the world by taking down BLG 3-1, denying the reigning champions a flawless regional Golden Road and proving that the LPL has more than one team capable of standing tall on the world stage.
If there are two players to watch, they are Tarzan and
, who showcased near-perfect synergy in the Summer Split and helped the team dictate the pace of their matches, forcing their opponents to respect them. The
arrival of
has also strengthened the toplane, and the team looked better throughout the Summer Split. It remains to be seen whether their Summer title was entirely down to their own level or partly the result of BLG losing momentum.
