LCS Spring Season 2026 Power Rankings

The LCS return this Saturday, April 4th, 2026, featuring the eight best North American teams back in action. After a First Stand that saw fall to some of the strongest Asian teams in the world, they’re back to defend the crown they recently earned at the Lock-In.

The season will kick off with the same matchup as the last final — LYON versus — the two teams widely seen as standing above the rest. Ahead of the start of the Spring Split, Sheep Esports presents its ranking of the teams competing in the league beginning this Saturday.

LYON is unanimously considered the top North American team of 2026 so far. This status largely stems from their Lock-In championship title, secured after a strong run through the loser's bracket and a decisive 3-1 grand final victory over Cloud9, earning them a spot at the First Stand where they trained and defied the best teams in the world. They're riding high momentum, led by the league's best players at their roles like jungler (LTA 2025 Player of the Year), midlaner , and toplaner .

had a very strong start to their season, remaining undefeated until reaching the grand final. However, the team looked outmatched against LYON in the final of the tournament. On top of that, Cloud9 also recorded a disappointing result at the Americas Cup, suffering two losses to FURIA. Despite these blemishes on their record, the team still appears to have the resources needed to remain a strong and potentially dominant contender in the LCS.

Although they fell slightly short at the Lock-In — a harsh and unforgiving format — beating only Disguised (3–0) and Shopify Rebellion (1–0), still fields one of the most promising rosters in the league. On paper, they have last year’s standout midlaner, the most experienced support in the league, and a new toplaner arriving straight from the LCK, forming an ambitious project that’s eager to prove its worth. This split will be the real test to see whether the dream is still alive, and if , , and can lead the team back to the path of success.

also began their season on a positive note in the Swiss Stage, finishing with two wins and one loss, thanks in part to the successful integration of their new jungler . However, the team struggled to maintain that momentum in the playoffs, suffering two heavy defeats against Cloud9 and LYON. Despite this early setback, the season is still long, and the team’s younger players may simply need more time to grow comfortable on stage. The future still holds promise.

For their first competition in the LCS,

Sentinels

delivered a convincing tournament run, finishing in third place. The roster, composed largely of experienced players, managed notable victories over Team Liquid and Disguised. However, they were unable to challenge Cloud9 or LYON and were heavily defeated by FURIA in the Americas Cup. If they hope to achieve better results this split, the team will need more than good synergy and individual talent.

Finally, could hardly have had a worse start to the season. With three losses in three matches and not a single game win, the team struggled across the board. Most players performed below their usual individual level, and the team’s cohesion appeared nearly nonexistent despite the expectations surrounding the roster and their marquee signing . Still, it is reasonable to assume that his integration into the team is not yet complete, and the roster possesses enough talent to eventually show its potential during the Spring Split and fight for a place near the top of the standings.

With very little playtime during the Lock-In,

Disguised

still managed to take a BO1 off both Sentinels and LYON. However, it’s important to keep in mind that these early-season matches don’t carry much weight — they’re best seen as warm-up games. Disguised remains the league’s Guest Slot team, a status that hurt them during the 2025 offseason when they struggled to attract major talent. Still, with two new American recruits, and , they’ll be aiming to improve on last year’s 5th–6th place finish and, ideally, secure just the second best-of-series win in the team’s history.

If there’s one constant in recent years, it’s that

Dignitas

often fields rosters that end up near the bottom of the standings. The confidence around this year’s lineup isn’t much different, with expectations remaining fairly low. Although visa issues affected their botlane during the LCS Lock-In, it’s worth noting that they managed to win only a single match — against Shopify Rebellion — in that unforgiving format. Led by and , whose stats were middling throughout 2025, Dignitas enters the new split with modest expectations, meaning their best chance might be to surprise everyone when it matters most.