2026 League of Legends World Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | League of Legends |
| Location | United States |
| Dates | 15 October–14 November |
| Administrator | Riot Games |
| Host(s) | Los Angeles Allen, Texas New York City |
| Venue | 3 (in 3 host cities) |
| Teams | 19 |
The 2026 League of Legends World Championship is an upcoming esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends, set to be held in the United States — in Los Angeles, California, Allen, Texas of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and New York City, New York, from 15 October to 14 November.[1] It will be the sixteenth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organised by the game's developer, Riot Games.
It will be the United States' fifth hosting of the tournament, the fourth World Championship to be hosted in Los Angeles, the third to be staged in New York City after the 2016 and 2022 editions, and the first international League of Legends competition to be held in the state of Texas. Nineteen teams will qualify based on placement within their regional leagues and results gained in the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI).
T1 of the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) are the three-time defending champions.[2][3]
Host selection
In a development update video published on 8 January 2025 to begin that year's competitive season, Riot Games announced that North America will host the 2026 edition of Worlds, with the United States being confirmed as the host country during the media day for the 2025 World Championship Final in Chengdu, China months later on 7 November 2025. Two cities were initially announced to host the tournament - Allen, Texas of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and New York City.[4][5]
In an interview days before the 2025 World Championship final, Global Head of LoL Esports Chris Greeley stated that the play-in and Swiss stages had been planned to be hosted at the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles, mirroring the setup of the 2024 World Championship held in Europe. However, fans had provided feedback that the Riot Games Arena in Berlin, which hosted the play-in and Swiss stages of the 2024 World Championship was too small. Citing budget and logistical cpabilities, Riot decided to move both stages to a "bigger venue" in Texas.[6] On 22 March 2026, Riot announced that due to "logistical challenges," the play-in stage was moved back to the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles will host the play-in stage, while Allen will host the Swiss stage, quarterfinals, and semifinals. Los Angeles is the home city of the League Championship Series (LCS), while Allen hosted the 2025 League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA) Championship Finals in September of the same year,[7] which was the only finals of the LTA after the announcement of its discontinuation after only one season. New York City will host the Final, becoming the first East Coast city to do so. It previously hosted the semifinals of the 2016 World Championship and the group stage and quarterfinals of the 2022 edition.[8]
Venues
Three venues will be used for the tournament. In an article posted by Riot Games on 8 January 2026 to begin the said year's competitive season, it was announced that the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, a northern suburb of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, would host the play-in, Swiss stage, quarterfinals and semifinals. The event center hosted the 2025 LTA Championship finals, one of three weeks of the 2019 Overwatch League Homestand, and the 2024 Call of Duty League Championship.[9][10] During the finals of the 2026 First Stand Tournament in São Paulo, Brazil on 22 March 2026, Riot Games announced that the play-in stage would instead be hosted in the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles, the home studio of the League Championship Series (LCS).
The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, one of New York City's five boroughs, will stage the finals. The arena hosted the inaugural Overwatch League Grand Finals in 2018 and multiple editions of the ESL One New York Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament.[5][11]
| United States | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, California | Allen, Texas | New York City, New York | ||
| Play-in stage | Swiss stage | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| Riot Games Arena | Credit Union of Texas Event Center | Barclays Center | ||
| Capacity: 300 | Capacity: 8,100 | Capacity: 19,000 | ||
Qualification
The League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), League of Legends Pro League (LPL), League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), League Championship Series (LCS), and the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP) will have three directly qualified teams to the Swiss stage, while the Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (CBLOL) will qualify two teams. The winning team of the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational will earn an automatic slot in the tournament provided it reaches the playoffs of its region's third split, while the second-best region in the said tournament will also earn another slot.
CBLOL was initially allotted one slot for the tournament. The initial announcement was met by criticisms from local fans, citing CBLOL teams' performances against LCS teams during the 2025 LTA playoffs and the 2026 Americas Cup. The league was awarded another spot in the World Championship on 22 March 2026.[11][12]
This will be the first World Championship to feature teams from the LCS and CBLOL since the 2024 edition following the splitting of the League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA) region in September 2025.[13]
Format
Following the expansion of the tournament to 19 teams, the format was changed. Four (4) teams will qualify for the play-in stage, which is a double-elimination best-of-five bracket. The winner of the play-in stage will qualify for the tournament's swiss stage. Sixteen (16) teams compete in the Swiss stage, where the first eight (8) teams to achieve three (3) wins will advance to the knockout stage, which is a single-elimination bracket. All matches in the knockout stage are expected to be best-of-fives. Seeding for teams will be determined via regional performances, including during the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational, and will be announced at a later date.
The World Championship is expected to use the Fearless Draft format, where champions that have been played by either team become unavailable for both teams for the remainder of the series. Fearless Draft is expected to be used for all best-of-3 and best-of-5 series during the World Championship.
References
- ^ Hale, Jacob (7 November 2025). "Riot Games Reveal 2026 International Tournament Locations: LoL Worlds '26, MSI & First Stand". Esports.net. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
- ^ Lea Maas (9 November 2025). "T1 wins LoL World Championship for 3rd straight year". Esports Insider. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ Lee Yoon-seo (9 November 2025). "T1 makes history with first-ever World Championship three-peat". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ "LoL: Worlds Headed to Texas, First Stand Expands to Eight Teams — Riot Outlines the 2026 International Schedule". Sheep Esports. 7 November 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
- ^ a b Marchoude, Ilyas (22 March 2026). "Dates of the First Stand, Mid-Season Invitational, and Worlds in 2026". Sheep Esports. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
- ^ Xu, Davide (11 November 2025). "Inside Riot's Esports Vision: Chris Greeley on What Comes Next for LoL Esports". Hotspawn. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
- ^ Xu, Davide (4 June 2025). "The LTA Championship is coming to Texas". Esports Insider. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
- ^ Popko, John (21 November 2021). "Riot Games reveal the host cities for Worlds 2022". Inven Global. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
- ^ Fudge, James (8 January 2026). "Important Dates for the 2026 League of Legends Esports Season". The Esports Advocate. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- ^ "Season Start 2026: LoL Esports". LoL Esports. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- ^ a b "MSI and Worlds Updates". LoL Esports. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
- ^ Luque, Armand (22 March 2026). "CBLOL awarded a second Worlds 2026 slot and a direct MSI Bracket Stage berth". Sheep Esports. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
- ^ Ciocchetti, Cecilia (28 September 2025). "Riot bids farewell to the LTA as LCS and CBLOL return in 2026". Esports Insider. Retrieved 7 November 2025.