LoL Worlds 2026: Schedule, Venues, Format and All 19 Qualified Teams
Worlds 2026 starts October 15 in Los Angeles. Here's every qualified team, the full schedule from Play-In to the Brooklyn final, and how the format works.
The road to the Summoner's Cup is almost mapped out. With Team Liquid beating LYON 3-1 in the LCS final on October 4, North America locked in its seeds, and the field for the 2026 League of Legends World Championship is now complete at 19 teams. Only the order of Brazil's two representatives is still open, and that gets settled on October 10.
Worlds 2026 returns to North America and runs from October 15 to November 14, moving across three cities on the way to a Grand Final at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. No matches have been played yet, so here's everything you need before the Play-In begins.
Schedule and venues
| Stage | Dates (2026) | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Play-In | October 15–18 | Riot Games Arena, Los Angeles |
| Swiss Stage | October 23–26 and October 28–31 | Credit Union of Texas Event Center, Allen, Texas |
| Quarterfinals | November 3–6 | Credit Union of Texas Event Center, Allen, Texas |
| Semifinals | November 7–8 | Credit Union of Texas Event Center, Allen, Texas |
| Grand Final | November 14 | Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York |
Dates are in US time. Fans in Korea, China and Southeast Asia will see the matches land a day later on their calendars, which is why some outlets list the start as October 16.
The Play-In venue changed from Riot's original plan: it moved to its own Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles, a small studio-style space, before the tournament heads to the 8,100-seat arena in Allen and then to the 19,000-capacity Barclays Center for the final.
How the format works
The structure is close to what fans saw in 2025, with changes to the Play-In and regional seeding.
- Play-In: four teams play a double-elimination bracket of best-of-five series. Only one advances to the Swiss Stage.
- Swiss Stage: 16 teams, five rounds. After the first round, teams face opponents with the same record. Three wins puts you through to the knockouts, three losses sends you home. Matches are a mix of best-of-ones and best-of-threes.
- Knockouts: the final eight play best-of-five single-elimination series from the quarterfinals to the Grand Final.
All 19 qualified teams
| Region | Teams (seed order) |
|---|---|
| LCK (Korea) | Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, T1, Dplus KIA |
| LPL (China) | Anyone's Legend, Bilibili Gaming, Top Esports, Invictus Gaming |
| LEC (EMEA) | G2 Esports, Movistar KOI, Karmine Corp |
| LCS (North America) | Team Liquid, LYON, Cloud9 |
| LCP (Asia-Pacific) | Team Secret Whales, CTBC Flying Oyster, MVK Esports |
| CBLOL (Brazil) | FURIA, LOS (seeds decided October 10) |
Who starts in the Play-In
- Karmine Corp (LEC third seed)
- Cloud9 (LCS third seed)
- MVK Esports (LCP third seed)
- Brazil's second seed – whichever of FURIA and LOS loses the CBLOL final on October 10
The Play-In draw happens after that CBLOL final, so the opening matchups in Los Angeles aren't set yet. Everyone else, including both LCS finalists, goes straight to the Swiss Stage in Texas.
How North America's seeds were decided
The LCS was the last major league to finish. Team Liquid secured its Worlds spot by beating Cloud9 3-1 in the upper bracket final in late September, then took the title over LYON 3-1 on October 4, with jungler Josedeodo named Finals MVP. That gives Liquid the region's top seed and a direct path to the Swiss Stage alongside LYON, while Cloud9 has to fight through the Play-In.
The storylines to watch
Can anyone stop T1? T1 arrive as the three-time defending world champions, but this year they qualified as the LCK's third seed behind Gen.G and Hanwha Life. A fourth straight title would be unprecedented, and the lower seed means a tougher draw in the Swiss Stage.
LPL depth. China sends four teams led by Anyone's Legend and Bilibili Gaming, with Invictus Gaming taking the region's final ticket.
Home crowd pressure. With Worlds back in the US for the first time since 2022, Team Liquid and LYON will play the Swiss Stage in front of home fans in Texas, and Cloud9 can give NA a third main-event team by surviving the Play-In.
Europe's long shot. G2 Esports and Movistar KOI go straight to the Swiss Stage, while Karmine Corp has to win a bracket where only one team survives.
The patch and how to watch
Worlds will be played on Patch 26.20, which Riot released on October 6 as its dedicated Worlds patch. It nerfs Hextech Rocketbelt and pro favorites K'Sante and Ambessa while buffing Vayne, Lucian, Kennen and Swain, among others.
Matches stream on the official LoL Esports channels, including twitch.tv/riotgames, and Pick'Ems are open at lolesports.com and in the League client. Play-In picks lock when the tournament starts on October 15.
Why it matters
Worlds is the biggest event on the League calendar, and this year there's no obvious favorite. T1 have the pedigree, Gen.G and Hanwha Life have the seeds, and the LPL brings its deepest bench of contenders. The next stop is October 10, when the CBLOL final decides Brazil's seeds and the Play-In bracket is drawn. Five days later, the first series begins in Los Angeles.
Sources
This article was written by AI (Claude) and checked against the sources above. Games are updated regularly, so details may change.