CBLOL awarded a second Worlds 2026 slot and a direct MSI Bracket Stage berth

Riot Games has announced CBLOL will now be awarded a second spot at Worlds 2026. Though not confirmed yet, the Brazilian team will likely have to start their Worlds 2026 journey in the Play-In stage alongside the fourth seeds from the world’s top regions.

With the addition of another CBLOL slot to Worlds, the 2026 competition will now feature 19 teams from around the world playing in the United States from October 15th to November 8th.

In addition to this adjustment, Riot has also clarified MSI seeding, confirming that CBLOL will receive a direct berth into the Bracket Stage, bypassing the Play-In stage entirely — but it will remain the only participating region with a single seed at the event. The MSI Bracket Stage will feature the first-seeded teams from all six regions, along with the second-seeded team of the region that wins First Stand. The eighth and final spot will be determined by the Play-In stage, which includes the remaining second-seeded teams that did not qualify directly for the bracket.

Since last year, Brazil has been on the rise, steadily climbing the ranks and proving its strength both within the Americas and on the international stage. In 2025, FURIA in particular showcased the region’s potential across multiple events: at MSI, the team pushed both G2 and GAM to five games, coming close to reaching the bracket stage.

At the Esports World Cup, FURIA eliminated second-seeded LTA North representative Cloud9. Later on, other Brazilian teams stepped up as well, with RED Canids defeating Shopify Rebellion in the LTA Championship, and Vivo Keyd Stars securing second place over LTA North’s 100 Thieves, beating them 3–1 in the playoffs.

This year, Brazil has continued its upward trajectory. At the Americas Cup, delivered a flawless 8–0 run against LCS teams, dominating the competition. While fell to at First Stand, the first-seeded Brazilian squad pushed the Mexican organization to five games, coming close to an upset.

This progress has been partly driven by increased investment from Riot Games into the region’s development. This would include opportunities for LTA South teams to bootcamp with LCS teams following the LTA 2025 Split 1 Playoffs, as well as the 2026 Americas Cup granting a funded bootcamp ahead of MSI 2026, if the team does not qualify.

With the added context of CBLOL’s recent performances, fan uproar has spread across social media and prompted reactions from players within the scene. Famously, last year, VKS head coach Christopher “SeeEl” Lee told Sheep Esports: “The reason NA got three Worlds spots is obviously not because they’re good. Look at the LTA results. They did it to ‘save the region,’” expressing frustration over decisions that reduced opportunities for Brazil.

More recently, FURIA jungler voiced similar concerns after winning the Americas Cup: “I want to understand why these guys have three spots and I only have one.”

Nevertheless, in a press conference, Riot Games’ Chris Greeley quickly moved to dismiss the idea that community or player pressure influenced the recent changes: “Community pressure did not have any real influence on the decision. Even recent competitive results, like the Americas Cup, didn’t impact it either.”

In his explanation, the Global Head of League of Legends Esports noted that the initial decision made in September was reached too quickly, adding that Riot “hadn’t spent enough time at the outset fully considering the implications for international event slots.” He went on to clarify that the review of CBLOL’s international slots and formats began in January, at which point Riot concluded that the league deserved a second slot.

“Ultimately, we concluded that while this is something we probably should have done at the time of the original announcement, the next best time to make the adjustment was now. So we took the opportunity to announce it while we were in Brazil rather than waiting for a larger format announcement later, such as at MSI.”