Worlds 2026 will take place in the United States from October 15 to November 14, with
19 teams from around the world competing for the title. A total of 95 players will travel to Los Angeles, Allen, and New York in an attempt to dethrone reigning three-time World Champions T1.
Of these 95 players, 21 will compete at the biggest event in esports for the first time in their careers. They will look to gain as much experience as possible against veterans of the scene, while Lee "
Faker" Sang-hyeok will be making his eleventh career appearance at Worlds, a daunting prospect for those who find themselves facing him on the Rift.
A new generation of AD carries
Many AD carries will be making their Worlds debut, including some of the biggest names in their respective regional scenes. In EMEA, Caliste "Caliste" Henry-Hennebert is the player to watch. The 20-year-old French botlaner will head to Worlds with international success already under his belt, having delivered standout performances at last year's First Stand and this year's Esports World Cup.
In the LCK, Dplus KIA's botlane of Shin "Smash" Geum-jae and Oh "Career" Hyeong-seok will also be making their Worlds debut. They already have an EWC trophy to their names, but the Worlds stage presents a different challenge. Over in the LPL, Zi "JiaQi" Jia-Qi has shown plenty of promise with Invictus Gaming. It is also worth mentioning that the two Brazilian ADCs from LOS and FURIA, Francisco "Duduhh" Queiroz da Silva and Andrey "Ayu" Saraiva, will be making their first Worlds appearances as well.
Four New Korean Midlaners
The Korean midlane is widely regarded as the most stacked role in the world. Just look at the four legends representing the LCK this year, almost all of whom are World Champions. The only exception is still considered one of the best players in the world over the past decade. As a result, some players have had little choice but to leave Korea to have a chance to make a name for themselves.
Among them are Lee "Loki" Sang-min and Kang "kyeahoo" Ye-hoo, who will compete in the Play-In stage for Cloud9 and Karmine Corp, respectively. They will inevitably have to eliminate each other to advance to the Main Stage. Two more Korean midlaners will feature in the Main Stage: CTBC Flying Oyster's Han "Pout" In-woong, who played a part in his team's resurgence this Summer, and LYON's Kang "Saint" Sung-in. All four players will be making their Worlds debuts.
Full list of players making their Worlds debut:
LCS
- Park "Thanatos" Seung-gyu
- Lee "Loki" Sang-min
- Kang "Saint" Sung-in
LEC
- Kang "kyeahoo" Ye-hoo
- Caliste "Caliste" Henry-Hennebert
LCP
- Ngô "Kratos" Đức Khánh
- Võ "Chika" Lê Nhân
- Nguyễn "Harky" Văn Hữu
- Nguyễn "SiuLoong" Hoàng Lam
- Han "Pout" In-woong
LPL
- Wang "Zhuo" Xu-Zhuo
- Zi "JiaQi" Jia-Qi
LCK
- Shin "Smash" Geum-jae
- Oh "Career" Hyeong-seok
CBLOL
- Kim "Zest" Dong-min
- Raí "Curse" Yamada
- Jeong "Feisty" Seong-hoon
- Francisco "Duduhh" Queiroz da Silva
- Pedro "Tatu" Seixas Brito
- Arthur "Tutsz" Peixoto Machado
- Andrey "Ayu" Saraiva
