League of Legends Worlds 2026: schedule, host cities, and the teams already qualified

This year's World Championship spans three US cities, with the final at Barclays Center on November 14. T1 defends three straight titles. Here's everything before the tournament kicks off.

By Ryan Foster·September 28, 2026·2 min read

Brooklyn's Barclays Center, host of the Worlds 2026 grand final

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The League of Legends World Championship runs from October 15 to November 14, 2026. For the first time, Riot Games is spreading the tournament across three US cities, with 19 teams competing and T1 entering as defending champion after three consecutive titles.

Three cities, three stages

Los Angeles (Riot Games Arena) hosts the double-elimination Play-In stage.
Allen, Texas (Credit Union of Texas Event Center) hosts the Swiss stage and the knockout stage — the first international League of Legends event ever held in Texas.
Brooklyn, New York (Barclays Center) hosts the grand final on November 14 — the third time New York has hosted the Worlds final, after 2016 and 2022.

Format: 19 teams, Fearless Draft

After the double-elimination Play-In, 16 teams face off in a Swiss stage, where three wins are needed to advance to the knockout rounds. From there, it’s single-elimination, best-of-five matches, with Fearless Draft (a champion can’t be picked again by the same team across a series) used throughout the entire tournament.

Teams already qualified

As of September 26, most regions have locked in their slots:

LCK (South Korea): T1, Gen.G, Dplus KIA, Hanwha Life Esports
LPL (China): Bilibili Gaming, Anyone’s Legend, Top Esports, Invictus Gaming
LEC (EMEA): G2 Esports, Movistar KOI, Karmine Corp
LCS (North America): Cloud9 KIA, Team Liquid Alienware, LYON
LCP (Asia-Pacific): Team Secret Whales, CTBC Flying Oyster, MVK Esports
CBLOL (Brazil): Los Grandes, with one slot still pending

T1 chasing history

T1 arrives as defending champion after beating KT Rolster 3-2 in last year’s final in Chengdu — a sixth world title for the team and a third straight championship, unprecedented in the tournament’s history. Chasing a fourth consecutive title is set to be one of the defining storylines of this US-hosted edition.