League of Legends Worlds 2026 Opens in Los Angeles With 19 Teams; Play-Ins Run October 16-19
The 2026 League of Legends World Championship opened on October 16 in Los Angeles. Developer and organizer Riot Games announced the format on October 6: 19 teams from six regions will compete across three stages — Play-Ins, Swiss and Knockout — with the Finals set for November 15 in New York.
The Play-In stage runs October 16 to 19 at the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles, with four teams: MVK Esports from the Asia-Pacific LCP, Karmine Corp from EMEA's LEC, Cloud9 Kia from North America's LCS, and the second seed from Brazil's CBLOL. All matches are best-of-five under a double-elimination format, and only one team will advance to the Swiss Stage.
The Swiss Stage will be held at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, from October 24 to November 1. Korea's LCK representatives — Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, T1 and Dplus KIA — join from that stage. According to Riot, LCK teams have won 10 of the 15 previous World Championships. (GSM, from Riot Games' schedule via Inven Global)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 《英雄联盟》全球总决赛赛场（资料图：2015年决赛） / A League of Legends World Championship arena (file photo: 2015 finals). Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
