LPL Split 1 2026: Format, Dates, Teams — Everything You Need to Know

The number of LPL teams continues to shrink year after year, this time down to 14 following the departures of FunPlus Phoenix and Royal Never Give Up. The Split 1 will begin on January 14 and conclude in early March, with two teams heading to the First Stand to represent China in São Paulo, Brazil.

To increase the value of this split, which was somewhat criticized last year, the 2026 edition will award more Championship Points than before: 80 points for the winner, compared to just 20 for Top Esports, who won the first split in 2025. Despite this revaluation, several players will not be competing and will be taking breaks, such as Tian “Meiko” Ye and Yu "JackeyLove" Wen-Bo.

As last year, LPL Split 1 will be divided into several stages, starting with the regular season, where the 14 teams will be split into three groups: six in the Ascend group, four in the Perseverance group, and four in the Nirvana group.

They will compete in double round-robin BO3s. The top four teams from the Ascend group will directly qualify for the Playoffs Bracket Stage. The bottom two teams from Ascend, all four teams from the Perseverance group, and the top two teams from the Nirvana group will advance to the Knight’s Road, while the bottom two teams from the Nirvana group will be eliminated from Split 1.

The Play-In phase will therefore be split into multiple rounds. It will begin with the 5th team from the Ascend group facing the 2nd team from the Perseverance group, and the 6th team from Ascend playing against the 1st team from Perseverance. The winners advance to the Bracket Stage, while the losers move on to Round 3.

In Round 2, the 3rd team from the Perseverance group will face the 2nd team from the Nirvana group, and the 4th team from Perseverance will play against the 1st team from Nirvana. The winners advance to Round 3, while the losers are eliminated. Finally, the four remaining teams will face each other based on their regular-season ranking, with the highest seed playing the lowest.

The Bracket Stage will be the same as last year: a double-elimination bracket with all matches played as best-of-five between the top eight LPL teams. The winner and the runner-up will represent the LPL at the First Stand and will be awarded 80 and 50 Championship Points respectively, compared to just 20 and 15 last year.

Many teams have made roster changes ahead of the 2026 season. Among the top organizations, Anyone’s Legend decided to trust the same roster that performed very well in 2025. BLG changed their jungler and brought back Peng “Xun” Li-Xun, while the AD carry role will be filled by Park “Viper” Do-hyeon.

TES are keeping their solo lanes and have added Yang “naiyou” Zi-Jian in the jungle, Zi “JiaQi” Jia-Qi as AD carry until JackeyLove returns, and Wang “fengyue” Run-Lai as the starting support. On their side, iG have just won the Demacia Cup despite multiple roster changes, while JDG are attempting a rebuild after several difficult splits.

For more informations about roster changes ahead of the LEC 2026 season, check out our Transfers Hub and Offseason Live Tracker.

In addition to Chinese platforms such as Bilibili, Huya, and Tencent, the LPL will also be available with Korean commentary on SOOP and in English on the LPLEnglish channel starting January 14. As for the French broadcast, co-streamer Jean “Trayton” Medzadourian is expected to once again hold the streaming rights this year, although nothing has been made official yet.