| 2026 LPL season | |
|---|---|
| League | LPL |
| Sport | League of Legends |
| Duration |
|
| Teams | 14 (Splits 1 and 2) 12 (Split 3) |
| Split 1 | |
| Split 2 | |
| Split 3 | |
The 2026 LPL season is the ongoing 14th season of the League of Legends Pro League (LPL), a Chinese professional esports league for the video game League of Legends . It consists of 14 teams participating in the first two splits, with 12 contesting the third, with each split qualifying teams to three international tournaments. The season began on 14 January.
Similar to previous years, the LPL will utilize the championship points system in determining one of its representatives to the 2026 League of Legends World Championship, but the amount of points garnered increased from the most recent season. For instance, the team that wins the first split of 2026 would receive 80 points, as compared to only 20 from the previous season.
Two teams from the previous season left the league prior to the 2026 season. On 17 November 2025, 2019 League of Legends World Championship winners FunPlus Phoenix announced their departure from the LPL, [1] while three-time Mid-Season Invitational champions Royal Never Give Up was confirmed not to participate for the 2026 season due to the organization's financial and legal issues. During the 2025 season, RNG finished as one of the bottom two teams, thus relegating them to the League of Legends Development League (LDL). However, the team and its academy team RNG Academy had to forfeit all its matches, owing to said issues. On 8 January 2026, RNG eventually confirmed its departure from competitive League of Legends. [2]
The problems surrounding RNG stemmed from the organization being unable to meet both financial and legal commitments. Due to this, the Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People's Court imposed a CN¥ 160 million penalty in July 2025. RNG was also classified as a "high-risk defaulter" by the court. It was also further noted that the organization had also faced other issues. [3]
With the departure of FPX and RNG, the league reduced to 14 teams.
Split 1 features all 14 teams divided into three groups for the group stage - Group Ascend, Group Perseverance, and Group Nirvana. Each team was placed in their respective groups based on their performance during the 2025 season. The group stage will follow a double round-robin format, with all matches played in best-of-threes. The top four (4) Ascend teams will advanced directly to the playoffs, while the bottom two (2) from the same group will join all the teams from the Perseverance group and the top two (2) Nirvana teams in Knights Rivals play-in stage. The bottom two (2) teams in the Nirvana group will be eliminated.
The Knights Rivals play-in stage will apply a hybrid double-elimination bracket with all matches being best-of-fives. In the first round, the bottom two (2) teams from Ascend will face the top two (2) teams from Perseverance with the winner of those two matches advancing to the playoffs. Meanwhile, the bottom two (2) teams from Perseverance and the top two teams from Nirvana will go up against each other in elimination matches, with the winning teams advancing to face the losing teams from the first round for the final two spots in the playoffs.
In the playoffs, an eight-team double-elimination bracket will be applied, with all matches played in best-of-fives. The two finalists from Split 1 will qualify as the league's representatives at the 2026 First Stand Tournament. [4]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bilibili Gaming | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | Playoffs |
| 2 | JD Gaming | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | |
| 3 | Weibo Gaming | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | |
| 4 | Anyone's Legend | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | |
| 5 | Invictus Gaming | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | Knights Rivals |
| 6 | Top Esports | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team WE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Knights Rivals |
| 2 | TT Gaming | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | EDward Gaming | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LGD Gaming | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Knights Rivals |
| 2 | LNG Esports | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| 3 | Oh My God | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Ultra Prime | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Split 2 will see the same 14 teams divided into two groups - Group Ascend and Group Nirvana - based on their standings from the first split. The top eight (8) teams from Split 1 will comprise Ascend, while the bottom six (6) will be assigned to Nirvana. The top four (4) teams from Ascend will automatically qualify for the playoffs, while the bottom four (4) teams will join the top four teams from Nirvana in the Knights Rivals play-in stage. The bottom two (2) teams from the Nirvana group will be eliminated from the 2026 LPL season.
The Knights Rivals play-in stage will see eight (8) teams competing for the final four spots in the playoffs in best-of-five matches. Similar to the first split, the playoffs will also feature eight teams and best-of-five matches, with the finalists qualifying for the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational. The formats for each of the three stages has not been announced.
If an LPL team wins the 2026 First Stand Tournament, both of its representatives at MSI will have a bye to the bracket stage.
The remaining 12 teams will again be divided into Group Ascend and Group Nirvana for the group stage, similar to the second split. After the group stage, the Knights Rivals play-in stage will qualify the last remaining teams for the playoffs. The playoffs will be contested in best-of-five matches, with the winner of Split 3 being crowned the Season Champion and securing qualification for the 2026 League of Legends World Championship. If an LPL team finishes as a finalist at the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational, a fourth slot will be unlocked for the league. The formats for each of the three stages has not been announced.