League of Legends Worlds 2026 begins on October 15th. The year’s most prestigious tournament returns to North America for the first time since Worlds 2022, when
pulled off one of the most incredible runs in esports history to lift the trophy.
Since then, it has been
dominating Worlds with three titles in a row.
Their adaptability to the Worlds jungle meta, in particular, has been a big reason for their success. Heading into Worlds 2026, it’s time to take a look at the junglers that will be entering North America with high hopes.
Chasing for more glory
Only 3 out of the 19 junglers at Worlds 2026 have lifted the Summoner’s Cup previously: T1’s
,
’
and
s
.
Oner will be looking to truly cement himself as the greatest jungler of all time if he manages to win a fourth title in a row this year. However, Canyon has just as strong a claim to that accolade as a two-time MSI champion, multi-time LCK champion, and a former World Champion. Canyon’s astonishing
twelve wins out of 13 games on Lee Sin in 2026 are something to keep track of, with many expecting it to be a perma ban against Gen.G.
For Tian, it’s been a struggle on the big stage since his successful run with FunPlus Phoenix in 2019. While he has regularly been a domestic titan on his signature picks such as Vi, Jarvan IV, and Naafiri, Worlds 2026 has to be the tournament where Tian shuts down the doubters and returns to former glory alongside TES.
The hunt never ends
Worlds 2026 is a wide-open playing field for junglers that have never lifted the most prestigious title in
LoL esports.
,
,
, and
have enjoyed immense international and regional success. However, the Summoner’s Cup is the only major trophy that has eluded their prestigious careers. Tarzan’s recent form on rising jungle picks like Cho’Gath, on which he has an outrageous 13.50 KDA, could be the path for China’s return to the summit.
Some of the best Western junglers like
,
, and
have been at the forefront of the West’s hope at Worlds, yet have failed to bring glory to the regions. Worlds 2026 is shaping up to be one of the best years in a while for the West to do serious damage, and potentially even do the impossible: win a World Championship in the modern era.
The return of familiar faces
It’s a chance for
,
,
and
to write a new chapter in their careers as they make their return to the World Championship.
Blaber and Josedeodo return to Worlds after an absence of two and five years, respectively. It’s a great homecoming for the former, while the latter will fly the LCS flag high with
as one of the strongest Western teams at the event. Josedeodo’s Lee Sin is simply the stuff of legends, with an absurd 88.9% win rate, but his impressive 100% win rate on Qiyana over three games is worth keeping an eye on too.
For Shad0w, this is a chance to establish himself as a quality jungler on the global stage. While he did compete with Bilibili Gaming last year at Worlds, it was a disastrous showing for the team and Shad0w, who ended up splitting time with
, and ultimately bowed out with a 2-3 Swiss Stage record.
With
, this is Shad0w’s golden opportunity to prove that the promising rookie from MAD Lions six years ago still has it. Meanwhile, another jungler from the LCP, Gury, will be looking to make his own mark as he returns to Worlds for the first time since his debut with Vikings Esports at Worlds 2024.
The young blood eager to make a mark
Surprisingly, only two junglers will be making their debuts at Worlds 2026, and they both come from the CBLOL. Pedro "
Tatu" Seixas and Raí "
Curse” Yamada have had incredible beginnings to their careers. Tatu has quickly established himself as a showman with incredible mechanics on champions like Jarvan IV, Trundle, and Zaahen, while Curse completely transformed
into a top 2 team and has truly redeemed himself after being demoted to the
academy roster at the start of the year.
For other youngsters like Rudy “
” Semaan,
, and
, this is not their first foray at Worlds. However, all three of them arrive at this event with significant improvements. SkewMond is widely regarded as the best LEC jungler, as reflected by his 69.8% kill participation, +338 XP diff @ 15, and 4.68 KDA.
Hizto is an absolute monster in the LCP, and is the best jungler in the region without a doubt. A 91.7% win rate on Vi, 83.3% win rate on Qiyana, 26 KDA on Olaf, and LCP Split 2 and 3 MVP speaks to his dominance of the region at such a young age. Lucid, competing against titans such as Oner, Canyon, and Kanavi, has established himself as one of the LCK’s top junglers in a short span of time and even won his first international event this year at the Esports World Cup in July.
