The 2026 League of Legends World Championship runs from October 15 to November 14 in the United States — the tournament's first time in the country since 2016, and its first international League event in Texas. The event is spread across three host cities: the Play-In stage in Los Angeles, the Swiss stage, quarterfinals and semifinals at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, and the grand final at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on November 14.
Format: 19 teams from six regions compete. Four of them enter the Play-In, a double-elimination best-of-five bracket whose winner advances to the Swiss stage. Sixteen teams then play Swiss — the first eight to three wins move to the knockout stage, a single-elimination bracket of best-of-five series. The tournament uses the Fearless Draft rule. T1 enter as the three-time defending champions; according to the tournament references, Hanwha Life Esports qualified via their 2026 Mid-Season Invitational title.
As of mid-September 2026 the qualified field is still being finalized through regional playoffs. Already confirmed by their regional results: Team Secret Whales (LCP) were the first team to qualify, followed by Bilibili Gaming (LPL), MVK Esports and CTBC Flying Oyster (LCP) and Hanwha Life Esports (LCK). Remaining slots are decided by regional finals in late September.
Data current as of September 14, 2026. Venue, format and qualification facts are cited from the Wikipedia page for the 2026 World Championship, Leaguepedia, LegendsTracker and Sheep Esports.