League of Legends Worlds 2026 – full overview
Worlds 2026 runs October 15–November 14 entirely in the United States with 19 teams.
It is the first Worlds Final on the East Coast.
Prize pool is $5 million ($1 million to the champion).
The event uses Fearless Draft for Bo3 and Bo5 series.
Streams are on official LoL Esports channels (YouTube, Twitch, etc.).
Stages and venues
- Play-In Stage (Oct 15–18): Riot Games Arena, Los Angeles. 4 teams, double-elimination, every series best-of-five. Only 1 team advances to Swiss.
- Swiss Stage (Oct 23–26 and 28–31): Credit Union of Texas Event Center, Allen, Texas. 16 teams (15 direct + Play-In winner).
- Quarterfinals (Nov 3–6) and Semifinals (Nov 7–8): Same Allen venue. Best-of-five single elimination.
- Grand Final (Nov 14): Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York. Best-of-five.
Play-In Stage (starts this week)
Four teams in a fully random double-elimination bracket, all series Bo5.
Only one survives to Swiss. Opening matches on October 15:
- Cloud9 vs Karmine Corp — ~11 AM PDT / 1 PM CDT / 2 PM EDT
- FURIA vs MVK Esports — ~4 PM PDT / 6 PM CDT / 7 PM EDT
Subsequent matches fill in based on results (upper winners meet, losers drop to lower bracket).
Daily start times are 11 AM PDT / 1 PM CDT / 2 PM EDT.
The Swiss draw for Round 1 happens after the Play-In ends on October 18.
Play-In teams:
Cloud9 (LCS 3rd),
Karmine Corp (LEC 3rd),
MVK Esports (LCP 3rd),
FURIA (CBLOL 2nd).
Swiss Stage format
16 teams play until they reach 3 wins (advance to knockouts) or 3 losses (eliminated).
Up to five rounds.
Advancement and elimination matches are best-of-three; other matches are best-of-one.
No rematches.
Same-region matches are avoided in Round 1 but allowed later.
Round 1 seeding tiers (drawn after Play-In):
- Tier 1: Gen.G, Anyone’s Legend, Team Liquid, G2 Esports
- Tier 2: LOS (CBLOL 1st), Team Secret Whales, Hanwha Life Esports, Bilibili Gaming
- Tier 3: LYON, Movistar KOI, T1, Top Esports
- Tier 4: CTBC Flying Oyster, Invictus Gaming, Dplus Kia, Play-In winner
Tier 1 faces Tier 4; Tier 2 faces Tier 3. Later rounds pair teams with the same record.
Daily start times (approximate):
- Oct 23–26 and Oct 31: ~12 PM CDT / 1 PM EDT
- Oct 28–30: ~3 PM CDT / 4 PM EDT
Qualified teams by region
- LCK (Korea) — 4 teams (extra slot from MSI win): Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, T1, Dplus Kia
- LPL (China) — 4 teams (extra slot from MSI runner-up): Anyone’s Legend, Bilibili Gaming, Top Esports, Invictus Gaming
- LEC (EMEA) — 3 teams: G2 Esports, Movistar KOI, Karmine Corp (Play-In)
- LCS (NA) — 3 teams: Team Liquid, LYON, Cloud9 (Play-In)
- LCP (Asia-Pacific) — 3 teams: Team Secret Whales, CTBC Flying Oyster, MVK Esports (Play-In)
- CBLOL (Brazil) — 2 teams: LOS, FURIA (Play-In)
T1 enters as three-time defending champions (2023–2025) chasing a fourth straight title.
Gen.G is widely viewed as a top favorite. Hanwha Life Esports won MSI 2026.
Prize pool highlights
1st: $1,000,000
2nd: $800,000
3rd–4th: $400,000 each
5th–8th: $300,000 each Lower placements continue down to 19th.
Other notes
- Worlds anthem: “Know My Name” by True Damage.
- Fan Fest runs in New York around the Final (Pier 36 area, Nov 12–14).
- Patch for the event is 26.20.
- Daily start times shift with daylight saving changes (Europe Oct 25, US Nov 1).
