2026 LCS season

Last updated

2026 LCS season
League LCS
Sport League of Legends
Duration
  • 24 January – TBD
    (Lock-In)
Teams8
Lock-In
Spring
Summer
LCS seasons
2027 →

The 2026 LCS season is the upcoming 14th season of the League Championship Series (LCS), a North American 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 LCS with the Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (CBLOL), which was also reinstated, and the Liga Latinoamérica (LLA) in 2025. [1]

Contents

It will also be first LCS 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 24 January.

Background

The LCS initially ceased following Riot Games' announcement on June 11, 2024, in a blog post titled "LoL Esports: Building Towards A Brighter Future" that the LCS, CBLOL 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. In the LTA North, the second and third splits only garnered an estimated 147,000 and 159,000 peak viewers respectively - significantly lower than the Spring and Summer splits of the 2024 LCS season. [4] [5]

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]

League changes

Splits

On 5 November 2025, the LCS announced that the "LCS Lock-In Tournament" would return for the first time since the 2022 season and would be the league's first split as opposed to being a pre-season tournament. The next two splits will also be known back to Spring and Summer. [6]

Teams

Starting in 2026, the LCS 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 (North American Challengers League and Liga Regional Norte). [7] Before the lone LTA season in 2025, it was announced that both Immortals and NRG Esports, two teams from the most recent LCS season, would leave competitive League of Legends, reducing the league's number of teams to eight. [8]

Three team changes occurred heading into the 2026 season. On July 19, 2025, 100 Thieves confirmed its departure from the league after its 2025 season in the LTA and its final World Championship appearance in 2025, with the LCS announcing on October 10 that Sentinels would take its place from the 2026 season onward. [9] Following the LCS's reinstatement on September 28, 2025, LYON, who was selected as a partner team in the former LTA North from the former LLA, confirmed its participation for the 2026 LCS season. [10] . Disguised would also win the LTA North promotion and relegation tournament to advance to its first LCS season in 2026.

Formats

Both the Spring and Summer splits will follow the same regular season format, similar to the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), but both splits will each have a different playoffs format. [11]

International tournament slots

In line with the new international tournament allocation for each region introduced in 2025, the LCS will also have the same number of qualified teams to all three international competitions each as with the LCK, LCP, LEC, and LPL - one for the First Stand Tournament, two for the Mid-Season Invitational, and three for the League of Legends World Championship.

Lock-In

Format

The LCS Lock-In Tournament will feature eight (8) teams competing in a swiss stage tournament where all matches will be best-of-threes. The team that finishes with a 3-0 record and the three teams that have a 2-1 record will qualify for the playoffs. Among the three teams that finish with a 1-2 record, the team that has a better game record will qualify as the fifth seed, while the remaining two teams will compete in a tie-breaker match to determine the sixth playoff seed.

All playoff matches will be best-of-five series, applying the Double-elimination tournament bracket. The 3-0 team will be able to choose their opponent for the first playoff round. The winner of the LCS Lock-In Tournament will represent the league as its lone representative at the 2026 First Stand Tournament. [6]

Spring

Format

The Spring Split 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 LCS Lock-In Tournament, with all matches being played in best-of-fives and the top two teams qualifying for the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational. [6]

Summer

Format

Similar to the Spring split, the Summer split will have the same eight (8) teams competing in a single-round robin tournament where all matches will be played in best-of-threes, with the top six (6) teams qualifying for the playoffs. Identical to the 2024 LCS season, the playoffs will be a double-elimination bracket with an extended lower bracket. All playoff matches will be played in best-of-fives, with the top three (3) teams in the playoffs securing qualification for the 2026 League of Legends World Championship, which will be hosted in the United States. If an LCS team finishes as a finalist at the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational, a fourth slot will be unlocked for the league. [6]

References

  1. 1 2 Ciocchetti, Cecilia (September 28, 2025). "Riot bids farewell to the LTA as LCS and CBLOL return in 2026". Esports Insider. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  2. ↑ "LoL Esports: Building Towards A Brighter Future". LoL Esports. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  3. ↑ Wilson, Jason (June 11, 2024). "Riot Games rolls out consolidation plan, new spring event for League of Legends esports". Sports Business Journal . Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  4. ↑ Xu, Davide (June 16, 2025). "LTA North Split 2 records decrease in viewership". Esports Insider. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  5. ↑ "LTA North 2025 Split 3". Esports Charts. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "LCS 2026 Updates". LoL Esports. November 5, 2025. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
  7. ↑ "LCS and CBLOL Return!". LoL Esports.com. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  8. ↑ Gan, Jeremy (September 11, 2024). "NRG and Immortals reportedly leaving LCS amid 2025 Americas restructure". Dexerto. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  9. ↑ Boksner, Leo (July 19, 2025). "LoL: 100 Thieves to exit LTA North after 2025". Sheep Esports. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  10. ↑ "La LTA nunca existió.Nos vemos en la LCS 2026". LYON. September 28, 2025 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  11. ↑ "LCS 2026 Formats" (video). youtube.com. League Championship Series. November 5, 2026. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
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