“The LCK had its best year in 2025,” says the league’s secretary general

LCK Secretary General Lee Jung-hoon framed 2026 as the year in which the league will lay the groundwork for a “quantum leap” after what he described as a historic 2025 season. During the LCK Cup Media Day, held on Wednesday, the 7th, he outlined a roadmap built around on-stage consolidation, a new media partnership and competitive experiments designed to push the league into a new phase.​

“The LCK had its best year in 2025,” he recalled, pointing to the successful launch of the LCK Cup and Hanwha Life Esports’ title at the new international event First Stand, Gen.G’s league championship and back-to-back MSI trophies, as well as T1’s third consecutive Worlds title that “rewrote the history of LoL esports.”​

For 2026, Lee set a clear direction: “The LCK is doing its utmost to become a global premium content that multiple generations can enjoy together. 2026 will be a year to lay the foundation for a new chapter, a ‘quantum leap’ for the league.” He stressed that “the LCK is becoming a League of Legends esports league where both the competitive level and the internal stability are the best in the world,” calling for continued “interest and affection” from fans.​

On the business side, he formalized a five-year strategic agreement: “From 2026 to 2030, we have entered into a strategic partnership with Naver and SOOP." He states here that Naver, South Korean tech giant and leading online platform, is joining as an official sponsor of the LCK and has secured the naming rights to LoL Park. "Starting with today’s event, our LoL Park will officially use the name Chzzk LoL Park.”​ Chzzk is the video streaming service of Naver, launched in 2024.

The LCK Cup will act as a testing ground for format and rules changes. “In 2026, we will focus on strengthening our internal foundation. The LCK Cup will introduce the coach voice system on a trial basis. This has already been tested in the LPL with the Demacia Cup, and the LCP will also be testing it during its regular season. "After its introduction, we will examine it from multiple angles before deciding whether to adopt it officially,” Lee explained.​

He also linked these initiatives to the international calendar. “We will do everything we can to ensure that the MSI held in Daejeon in June runs successfully and to actively support the LCK so that it can win three years in a row,” he said, before turning to the Nagoya–Aichi Asian Games. “As 2026 is the year of the Asian Games, the LCK will do its part to recreate the emotion we felt when Korea won the gold medal and the national anthem rang out in Hangzhou in 2023.”

All quotes are translated from Korean. Sources : OSEN, 국민일보, INVEN