| 2026 CBLOL season | |
|---|---|
| League | CBLOL |
| Sport | League of Legends |
| Duration |
|
| Teams | 8 |
| CBLOL Cup | |
| Split 1 | |
| Split 2 | |
The 2026 CBLOL season is the upcoming 14th season of the Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (CBLOL), a Brazilian professional esports league for the video game League of Legends . It will be the first season after the league's reinstatement following the discontinuation of the League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA), which merged the CBLOL with the League Championship Series (LCS), which was also reinstated, and the Liga Latinoamérica (LLA) in 2025. [1]
It will also be first CBLOL season under the new three-split structure and competitive calendar introduced by the game's developer Riot Games during the 2025 competitive season. [2] The season will begin on 17 January.
The CBLOL initially ceased following Riot Games' announcement on 11 June 2024 in a blog post titled "LoL Esports: Building Towards A Brighter Future" that the CBLOL, LCS and LLA would plan to merge into a Pan-American league that would begin play in 2025, [3] which would eventually be known as the League of Legends Championship of The Americas or LTA. The new merged league, which consisted of two conferences (North and South), had its first season in 2025, but was met with criticism on branding, competitive gaps between the Northern and Southern teams, and split formats. As a result, the new league struggled in viewership numbers. According to Esports Charts, all three splits of LTA South garnered an average of 244,200 peak viewers - significantly lower than the two splits of the 2024 CBLOL season, which garnered a peak viewership average of 395,700. Furthermore, Splits 1 & 2 of the latter season had 459,846 and 331,713 peak viewers respectively - with each LTA South split unable to reach 300,000 at minimum. [4]
Aside from viewership declines, cross-conference quarterfinals matchups from the LTA's first split saw all North Conference teams won their best-of-three series against the South Conference in an 8-1 game record, with Isurus (then known as Isurus Estral) being the only Southern team to take a game in their series against Team Liquid. Due to this, several fans have criticized the competitive gap between teams from the North and the South. [5] . However, this would be improved upon in the final split, with RED Canids beating Shopify Rebellion in Round 1 of the LTA Playoffs, and Vivo Keyd Stars beating 100 Thieves in the Lower Bracket Final of the said phase - all in best-of-five series.
During the maiden LTA Championship Finals between FlyQuest of the North Conference (now LCS) and Vivo Keyd Stars of the South Conference (now CBLOL), Riot Games announced that the LCS and CBLOL would return as independent leagues beginning with the 2026 competitive season. [1]
On 5 November 2025, the CBLOL announced that the first split would be known as the CBLOL Cup, similar to the LCK Cup of the League of Legends Champions Korea. The next two splits will be respectively known as Splits 1 and 2. [6]
Starting in 2026, the CBLOL will have one guest team similar to the lone LTA season, where the guest team will be subject to promotion and relegation against teams from Tier 2 leagues (Circuito Desafiante and Liga Regional Sur). [7] Before the lone LTA season in 2025, it was announced that INTZ, KaBuM! Esports, Liberty, and Los Grandes, four teams from the most recent CBLOL season, would leave the league following the 2024 season. KabuM! Esports and Los Grandes would be invited to compete in the second-tier Circuito Desafiante beginning in 2025.
Two team changes occurred heading into the 2026 season. Leviatán, who was selected as a partner team in the former LTA South from the former LLA, was confirmed to remain as a partner team for the 2026 CBLOL season, marking their first appearance in the league. [7] Furthermore, Isurus would win the LTA South promotion and relegation tournament to advance to its first CBLOL season in 2026.
Both Splits 2 and 3 (named Splits 1 and 2) will follow the same format, similar to the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) and the League Championship Series (LCS). [8] All three splits will also have a similar playoff format, mirroring that of the 2024 LCS Summer Split playoffs.
The CBLOL will be allocated one team for each international tournament (First Stand Tournament, Mid-Season Invitational, League of Legends World Championship). This was met by criticisms from fans, citing a low number of spots for the region, given the CBLOL teams' performance in the LTA Playoffs and uncertainties surrounding the formats of the international competitions in its current form.
The CBLOL Cup will feature eight (8) teams competing in a single-round robin tournament where all matches will be played in best-of-ones. The top four (4) teams will qualify directly for the playoffs, while the bottom four (4) teams will compete in the play-in tournament. In the play-in phase, the format will mirror that of the NBA play-in tournament. The fifth and sixth ranked teams will compete for the fifth playoff seed, while the seventh and eighth ranked teams face off against one another with the loser being eliminated - all of which will be best-of-threes. The winner of the 7/8 match and the loser of the 5/6 match will vie for the sixth and final playoff seed in a best-of-five series.
In the playoffs, the top two (2) ranked teams will begin the second round, with the top-ranked team being able to choose their opponents. All remaining teams will start in the first round. The playoffs will be a Double-elimination tournament bracket with an extended lower bracket, with the winner of the CBLOL Cup qualifying to represent the league as its lone representative at the 2026 First Stand Tournament, which will be held in Brazil. [6]
Split 1 will feature eight (8) teams competing in a single-round robin tournament where all matches will be played in best-of-threes. The top six (6) teams will advance to the playoffs. The playoffs will mirror the CBLOL Cup playoff format, and similarly, the top two (2) ranked teams will receive a bye to the second round, with the top-ranked team choosing their opponents. The winner of Split 1 will qualify for the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational. [8]
The same eight (8) teams will compete in Split 2 in a single-round robin tournament where all matches will be played in best-of-threes. The top six (6) teams will advance to the playoffs, applying the same format and team seeding principles as Split 1. All matches will be played in best-of-fives, with the winner of Split 2 securing qualification for the 2026 League of Legends World Championship. It is currently unclear what happens if the CBLOL wins MSI 2026, as they are only allocated one team for each of the three international events. [8]