Worlds 2026: Swiss Stage Round 1 Draw

The time is now. With the Worlds 2026 Play-In now over and the final participant decided, the main event of the League of Legends World Championship is set to begin with the first round of the Swiss Stage. Sixteen teams will enter the stage in Texas, and only eight will advance to the Knockout Stage.

Matches are set to begin on October 23, with every team competing in best-of-one games on the first day. Following the first day’s results, a draw will once again be held for Round 2, where all 16 teams will compete again, either with a 1-0 or 0-1 record.

As a quick reminder of the format, teams that earn three wins will qualify for the Knockout Stage, while those that suffer three losses will be eliminated. Starting from Round 2, teams will play best-of-three series whenever they are one win away from qualification or one loss away from elimination, with the remaining matches continuing in a best-of-one format.

After months of preparation, it all comes down to this. The first draw of the Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage has been made, and some bangers lie ahead. Here are the first eight matchups of the Worlds 2026 Main Stage:

Please note that the match schedule has not yet been finalized, and the order of the games could still change. Among the most exciting matchups are Gen.G vs. IG, which promises to be explosive, the Esports World Cup rematch between Anyone’s Legend and Karmine Corp, and G2 vs. Dplus KIA, a historic matchup between the two organizations.

As in previous years, much of the first round was predictable, as intra-regional matchups are prohibited in Round 1 under the rulebook. Teams were pre-divided into four pools of four, with Pool 1 teams facing Pool 4 teams and Pool 2 teams facing Pool 3 teams. Since several regions had teams represented across multiple pools, it was relatively easy to predict which matchups were possible ahead of the draw.

Things may look very different in subsequent rounds, as no regional protection will be in place and teams will be matched based solely on their records. Who will be this year’s unluckiest team, and who will be the year’s “chosen monkeys”?