On October 15, the first matches of the
World Championship will get underway in the United States with the play-in stage. The 19 best teams from the world's strongest regions will compete in an attempt to eventually dethrone three-time reigning champions,
T1. While most of the teams considered among the tournament's main favorites come from the
LCK or
LPL, the
LCP and its representatives have largely flown under the radar.
After
's historic run last year with a roster that left a lasting impression on fans of the game, the region's teams appear less likely to cause an upset this time around. Each of them, however, possesses its own strengths and will attempt to demonstrate that the region's talent was not limited to a single remarkable year.
Team Secret Whales, constantly improving
The most dominant team in the Pacific region this season has won all three regional titles and competed in every international tournament. After securing their first-ever Worlds victory last year against Keyd Stars, the Vietnamese team has taken over from CFO as the region's dominant force, consistently topping the domestic standings. Initially, however, the team struggled to perform internationally, enduring a difficult run at the First Stand before securing a notable victory at MSI that eliminated Top Esports.
The team is led by the performances of 19-year-old jungler
, the regular-season MVP and Split 3 Finals MVP, who regularly makes the difference for his team. He has been particularly effective on Lee Sin and Vi, the latter reaching a 91.7% win rate across the 2026 season. It remains to be seen whether these performances will be enough to improve the team's results at the biggest tournament of the year.
CFO,the remnants of last year's success
CFO's run last year impressed fans after the team secured a historic qualification for the quarterfinals of the competition. With a large number of changes to its roster compared with last year, the team struggled to replicate that success. On two occasions, CFO failed to reach the top four and was forced to make changes at both mid lane and support before recovering in Split 3. The team eventually finished as runners-up, although it remains unable to overcome TSW.
The team can still rely on its AD carry,
, who emerged on the international stage last year. He was the only player outside of TSW to make the Regular Season All-Pro First Team and finished second in the MVP voting. He possesses a fairly broad champion pool and has shown that he can perform on a variety of picks, as demonstrated by his Samira, on which he has recorded three wins in three games this year and a 9.2 KDA. Midlaner
, who joined in Split 2, has also shown some promising performances in the playoffs and could carry that momentum into Worlds.
MVK Esports, starting from the bottom
At first glance,
appear to be the weakest of the 19 teams entering the competition. Four members of the roster will be making their international debuts. The team underwent numerous changes throughout the year after finishing seventh in Split 1 and fourth in Split 2. They ultimately qualified through championship points after a decisive playoff match against
, securing their second Worlds appearance after their previous qualification in 2024.
The team boasts a solid collective structure, with several carries capable of taking responsibility when needed and strong support from their jungler,
, the only player on the roster with previous Worlds experience, having competed at the tournament four years ago with the organization formerly known as
Viking Esports. He has demonstrated considerable versatility and, notably, has maintained a 100% win rate on Maokai throughout Split 3. With a playstyle of their own, the team will have to make the most of their chances if they are to escape the play-ins against more established names such as
Karmine Corp and
Cloud9. The
’s case had already demonstrated in MSI play-ins just how significant the gap between regions can be, even when competing as a second seed.
