esports
League of Legends Worlds 2026: A complete guide to the World Championship
LoL Worlds 2026 kicks off on October 15. Here you can find the dates, schedule, all 19 teams, the format, the favourites, the anthem and all the world champions since 2011.
The 2026 League of Legends World Championship is almost here, with 19 teams heading to the US to battle for the Summoner’s Cup from October 15 to November 14. Defending champions T1 are chasing a fourth consecutive title, Gen.G enter as favourites, and challengers from China, Europe and North America are determined to end Korean dominance. Here’s everything you need to know about LoL Worlds 2026, including dates, times, teams and tournament details.
01
What are the LoL Worlds 2026?
LoL Worlds is the League of Legends World Championship and the highlight of the esports season. The best teams from the major leagues compete against each other, with the Summoner’s Cup up for grabs. The 2026 theme is 'This is our moment'. With this, Riot is putting the spotlight on professionals, fans and the entire ecosystem of this long-standing MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena).
The theme for LoL Worlds 2026 is 'This Is Our Moment'
© Riot Games
This is the 16th World Championship since its inception in 2011. Back then, it all kicked off with a prize pool of $100,000 USD as part of DreamHack Summer; last year, the prize pool was significantly larger at $5 million USD.
Today, Worlds is one of the biggest esports events in the world and THE highlight of the competitive League of Legends season calendar: 6.7 million viewers tuned in to the final of the 2025 League of Legends World Championship. This puts it in second place among the most-watched esports events of all time
LoL Worlds 2026 FAQs
02
Dates and venues for 2026
LoL Worlds 2026 will span three stages and four weeks and will be played entirely in the US.
LoL Worlds 2026 schedule
Details
Overall dates
October 15 – November 14, 2026
Play-In Stage
October 15-18; Los Angeles (California)
Swiss Stage
October 23-31; Allen (Texas)
Knockout Stage
November 3-14; Allen (Texas) and Brooklyn (New York)
Final
November 14; Brooklyn (New York)
Below are the times (UTC) when you can watch each stage.
Date
Stage
Location
Start time (UTC)
October 15–18
Play-In
Los Angeles
6.00pm UTC
October 23
Swiss Stage
Allen
5.00pm UTC
October 24
Swiss Stage
Allen
5.00pm UTC
October 25
Swiss Stage
Allen
5.00pm UTC
October 26
Swiss Stage
Allen
5.00pm UTC
October 28–30
Swiss Stage
Allen
8.00pm UTC
October 31
Swiss Stage
Allen
5.00pm UTC
November 3–6
Quarter-finals
Allen
10.00pm UTC
November 7–8
Semi-finals
Allen / Brooklyn
10.00pm UTC
November 14
Final
Brooklyn
7.00pm UTC
03
Where can you watch LoL Worlds 2026 live?
All matches will be streamed live and free of charge on the official LoL Esports channels, including Twitch, YouTube and lolesports.com. Anyone who subscribes to the channels on Twitch will also receive emotes, badges and ad-free streams. A portion of the revenue goes into a fund that supports leagues and teams within the ecosystem:
If you’d like to attend in person, there’s a chance to do so: the Fan Fest at Pier 36 in Lower Manhattan runs from November 12-14, featuring developer talks, special guests and hands-on activities.
04
The LoL Worlds 2026 format
Play-in (October 15-18): Four teams will compete in a double-elimination bracket, with each match being a best-of-five series. The draw is entirely random, meaning any two teams could face each other. Only the winner advances to the Swiss stage. The participants are Karmine Corp, Cloud9, MVK Esports and a team from Brazil.
Swiss stage (October 23-31): Here, 16 teams play five rounds. Any team that secures three wins progresses to the quarter-finals. Any team that suffers three defeats is eliminated. From Round 2 onwards, teams with the same record will face each other; for example, 1–0 versus 1–0. No two teams will ever face each other twice in this stage.
Round 1 will be drawn from four pots following the play-in on October 18. Teams from Pot 1 will play against Pot 4, and Pot 2 against Pot 3. Teams from the same region will not face each other in Round 1.
Knockout stage (November 3-14): Eight teams compete in the quarter-finals before the semi-finals and final. In the draw on October 31, the two teams with a 3–0 record will be paired against the two teams with a 3–2 record. The remaining four teams will be drawn against each other.
Watch the video below to find out more about the format.
05
Which teams are competing at LoL Worlds 2026?
Korea and China each field four teams, whilst Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific each field three. All four LCK teams are directly seeded into the Swiss stage and do not have to go through the play-ins. The following teams have qualified for LoL Worlds 2026:
Region
League
Teams
China
LPL
Anyone's Legend, Bilibili Gaming, TOP Esports, Shanghai Invictus Gaming Meituan
Korea
LCK
Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports,
Europe
LEC
G2 Esports, Movistar KOI,
North America
LCS
Cloud9 Kia, Team Liquid Alienware, LYON
Asia-Pacific
LCP
Team Secret Whales, CTBC Flying Oyster, MVK Esports
Brazil
CBLOL
LOS and one other team (to be decided in the CBLOL final on October 10)
06
The favourites: Who will lift the Summoner’s Cup?
LoL World Finals Summoner's Cup
© Marv Watson
One thing is clear: whoever wants to win Worlds 2026 will have to get past Korea. With four teams, the LCK has one more team than most other regions, and all four are directly seeded into the Swiss stage.
The biggest name on the list is Gen.G. The Koreans have once again won the LCK play-offs and are through to Worlds for the seventh time in a row. The catch: Gen.G are still waiting for their first Worlds title as an organisation, and star mid-laner Chovy has never reached a Worlds final in his career. On top of that, Gen.G were knocked out by G2 in the First Stand.
A sixth Summoner's Cup for T1 at Worlds 2025
© Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
Nevertheless, the defending champions and favourites are T1. Faker and his teammates can make history with a fourth consecutive title, having lifted the Summoner’s Cup in 2023, 2024 and 2025. However, the season has once again been a bumpy ride: at the MSI, T1 lost to G2; at the Esports World Cup, they lost to Karmine Corp; and their qualification in the LCK play-offs ultimately hinged on the result of another team. Analysts point out, however, that in recent years T1 have rarely impressed during the regular season and only emerged as title contenders at Worlds. Anyone writing T1 off is therefore taking a risk.
The biggest threat from the East comes from China. Bilibili Gaming won the First Stand, dominated both LPL splits so far and reached the Worlds final in 2024, where they only lost to T1 in the fifth game. Anyone’s Legend enters the tournament as LPL champions, and TOP Esports have also qualified via the Regional Finals, beating Invictus Gaming 3–1. However, caution is advised with TES: the team lost all nine series against LCK teams in their last three international appearances. Hanwha Life Esports and Dplus Kia round off the strong Korean line-up.
Faker with the Summoner's Cup for the third year in a row
© Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
From the West, G2 Esports are the hot favourites. The Europeans have beaten Gen.G at the First Stand and T1 at the MSI, making them one of the few teams to have defeated both Korean sides this year. Karmine Corp knocked T1 out of the Esports World Cup, but must first get through the play-ins, as must Cloud9 from North America. MVK Esports and Team Secret Whales from the Asia-Pacific region are considered outsiders.
All these assessments are just snapshots. The draws for the Swiss stage and form in the play-ins could still turn the picture on its head.
07
What is the official LoL Worlds 2026 theme song?
The LoL Worlds anthem is as legendary every year as the event itself. In 2026, the theme is titled Know My Name. It is the 13th Worlds song in history and also the first to be performed by a virtual Riot band – the virtual hip-hop group True Damage is making a comeback. Behind the group are five champions acting as artists: Akali and Ekko as rappers, Qiyana as a singer and rapper, Senna as a singer and Yasuo as a DJ and producer.
The vocals are provided by real-life artists: SOYEON, rapper and lead producer of the girl group i-dle; Grammy winner Coco Jones; Grammy-nominated rapper Vic Mensa and Mexican pop singer Sofía Reyes.
Know My Name by True Damage is the theme song for LoL Worlds 2026
© Riot Games
Faker takes centre stage in the official Worlds music video. As Riot puts it, the clip tells the story of the most iconic professional in LoL esports history and his journey to a historic triple title with T1. It’s about setbacks, getting back on your feet and constantly reinventing yourself. In keeping with this theme, the 2026 Worlds skin is titled 'True Damage Yasuo Know My Name'.
Discover more about League of Legends
08
LoL Worlds winners: An overview of all World Champions
15 World Championships are now history. The tally: six titles for T1 (including their time as SK Telecom T1). Korea dominates the list, whilst Europe has won only once.
- 2011: Fnatic (Europe)
- 2012: Taipei Assassins (Taiwan)
- 2013: SK Telecom T1 (Korea)
- 2014: Samsung White (Korea)
- 2015: SK Telecom T1 (Korea)
- 2016: SK Telecom T1 (Korea)
- 2017: Samsung Galaxy (Korea)
- 2018: Invictus Gaming (China)
- 2019: FunPlus Phoenix (China)
- 2020: DAMWON Gaming (Korea)
- 2021: EDward Gaming (China)
- 2022: DRX (Korea)
- 2023: T1 (Korea)
- 2024: T1 (Korea)
- 2025: T1 (South Korea)
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