League of Legends Worlds 2026 is set to begin on October 15 as the biggest LoL esports event of the year returns to North America for the first time since 2022.
enter the event as defending champions, having also won the 2023 and 2024 editions.
T1 will be eager to complete an unprecedented four-peat while many hungry teams across the world will be looking to put themselves on the map or reclaim former glory. In the end, only one team can raise the Summoner’s Cup high at the Barclays Center, New York on November 14.
League of Legends Worlds 2026 will be split into
three stages, the Play-In , Swiss, and Knockouts.
The Play-in stage will feature the #3 seed from the LCS, LEC, and LCP alongside the #2 seed from CBLOL. A double-elimination bracket will decide the one team that will advance to the Swiss stage. All matches in this stage will be a best-of-five.
The Swiss stage will be split into five rounds and all non-qualifying and elimination matches will be best-of-ones while qualification and elimination matches will be best-of-threes. All matches will be drawn at the end of each round. The Knockout stage will be a single elimination bracket with four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and the grand finals. All matches will be best-of-fives
A total of
19 teams will play at Worlds 2026. The LCK and LPL will have four teams while the LCS, LEC and LCP will have three teams. The CBLOL will have two teams represent the region at the event. Listed below are all 19 teams at the tournament:
Fans across the world can watch Worlds 2026 on Riot Games’ official broadcast channels on
Twitch, YouTube and
TikTok. Live updates of the event will regularly be posted on the official X and Instagram accounts as well. Riot has yet to announce the list of co-streamers for the event, who serve as different avenues to enjoy the tournament through their respective broadcast channels.
