LEC Summer Split 2026 Power Rankings

The 2026 LEC Summer Split gets underway this Friday. Winners of the last three splits, G2 Esports will put their crown on the line in the home arena of their main rivals this year, Karmine Corp, which hosts the Roadtrip event that kicks off the split. Beyond finally breaking their curse against the Samurai, the runners-up of both the LEC Versus and the Spring Split will primarily be looking to secure their first Worlds qualification.

If the balance of power remains unchanged, the third ticket to the year's most prestigious competition should once again go to Movistar KOI. Unless the offseason moves made by the challengers are enough to disrupt the established hierarchy… or Fnatic manages to extend its streak of international qualifications. Discover Sheep Esports' LEC Summer Split 2026 Power Rankings in this article.

The European emperors return to familiar territory for this Summer Split. As three-time reigning European champions, naturally sit at the top of this ranking. After international runs at MSI 2026 and EWC 2026, taking two important wins against Top Esports and T1, they also enter the split as one of the two most exhausted teams in the competition. With almost no rest, they must also deal with a head coach change that could have affected the squad’s morale. According to recent revelations from the Al Lio podcast, Dylan Falco’s departure, replaced by Luka “Perkz” Perković right after MSI, appears to have been a somewhat difficult transition. It remains to be seen how the LEC champions will adapt in this crucial split for Worlds qualification.

are expected to continue the momentum they built during the Spring Split, establishing themselves as a strong contender for the top spot. While MSI was a disappointment for the Blue Wall, as they failed to make it past the Play-In Stage, the Esports World Cup was a massive success for Caliste "Caliste" Henry-Hennebert and his teammates, with a historic run all the way to the grand final. Karmine Corp secured the most prestigious victory in the organization's history by taking down reigning three-time world champions T1. The issue is that G2 achieved the exact same feat just a few days earlier… meaning the Karmine remains in second place in our Power Rankings.

This top three is, in our view, the trio that will represent Europe at the 2026 World Championship in the United States, with having to go through the Play-In Stage, where they will face the third seed from the Pacific, the LCS third seed, and China's fourth seed. Already third in both of the first two splits, we do not expect the order to change much. and the rest of the roster are once again struggling to break through the glass ceiling above them, and we see them falling in the Lower Bracket Final before having to fight their way through the Play-In to reach the Main Stage of the biggest competition of the year.

are still one of the most refreshing teams in the LEC this season, and they remain one of the three sides making no changes for Summer. By sticking with the same core, they will now have to turn their strong regular-season form into something more convincing in playoffs. It is a young roster with plenty of upside, and Sheep Esports sees them as one of the main dark horses capable of taking another step forward on this split. With strong drafting variety, they will still have to fight hard to finally secure a second playoff win this year.

have rolled the dice on their Summer Split destiny. After nearly two years with the same five-man roster, they welcome two former LEC standouts in Óscar “” Muñoz Jiménez on toplane and Víctor "Flakked" Lirola in the botlane. Both return after difficult splits in Europe, and the burden is on them to push GX beyond fourth place. Sheep Esports does not expect the team to transform overnight, but it remains a solid roster that could settle in faster than expected. The real test will come in playoffs, where the team has never truly shone against the league’s clear top three.

Several times this year, Team Vitality looked like a team that could climb higher in the LEC rankings, especially during the Spring Split, where their playoff run ended in a crushing disappointment. The team responded by making a roster change, benching Czech midlaner Marek "Humanoid" Brázda and bringing in Korean import An "FIESTA" Hyeon-seo. In our view, this kind of change, like many roster moves, will take time to fully pay off. That is why we currently rank Vitality in sixth place.

Their position is no surprise given this season, but it is surprising when you consider the history of Europe’s second-biggest club. On the brink of what could be the worst year in the club’s 15 years of League of Legends competition, they welcome Lim “” Seong-min, the South Korean player arriving from Invictus Gaming, who will replace Panagiotis "Empyros" Tantis after he only managed to play two splits in the LEC. It is hard to imagine this alone will be enough to shift the team’s momentum. But the Black and Orange have often found a way to surprise when Worlds qualification is on the line. They could miss their tenth consecutive Worlds appearance, a record no team has ever matched worldwide.

Shifters are also among the teams that made changes ahead of the Summer Split. After two splits at the bottom of the LEC standings, the Swiss organization brought back French jungler Théo "" Borile, reuniting him with his long-time duo partner Ilias "" Bizriken. His former support at Team Heretics, Paul "" Lardin, also joins the roster with the team hoping to build on existing synergies. From our perspective, what the team showed during Winter and Spring did not necessarily inspire confidence, which is why we place them fairly low in this power ranking. However, a playoff qualification would not be a surprise if these players manage to click together and find their rhythm.

Team Heretics

have made the most changes of any team since the start of the year, yet they remain stuck near the bottom of the standings. This time, they have replaced their head coach by bringing in Erlend “Nukeduck” Våtevik Holm to reunite with Alfonso “Mithy” Aguirre Rodríguez, while also adding Paul “sOAZ” Boyer in place of Fabian "FEBIVEN" Diepstraten. The roster now finally includes the Hype-Way bot lane, with Kacper "Daglas" Dagiel still holding onto the starting jungle spot. These moves suggest the club is already looking toward 2027 and trying to end the year in the least painful way possible.

In our view, SK Gaming are set to finish at the bottom of the league despite the arrival of Seo "SlowQ" Ye-bit. The roster has yet to truly click together, and their difficult schedule, starting the split against GIANTX and G2, does not bode well for them. After spending the last two splits near the bottom of the standings, we expect them to remain there for a third consecutive split. Although the project was built by and around Mihael “” Mehle, the support — expected to be the team's cornerstone — has looked like a shadow of his former self this year. Duncan "" Marquet's occasional strong performances have done little to change that so far, leaving little room for excessive optimism.