© 2026 Riot Games. All Rights Reserved.
© 2026 Riot Games. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome back to another split of the NACL - the dedicated path to pro for North America League of Legends players! We’re here to give you an overview of what to expect heading into the NACL Summer Split. If you need a refresher on our biggest changes for 2026, head over to our NACL 2026 Updates article that we released late last year.
As we head into the 2026 NACL Summer Split, we’re excited to welcome both new and familiar faces. From the NACL Promotion Tournament, Blue Otter successfully defended their spot while Contingent Esports rose through the Open Qualifiers. We’re also excited to welcome a brand new organization to the NACL — Cupid Esports.
The NACL officially kicks off on Thursday, July 16, bringing with it our brand new Group Stage Format! With everything on the line, the bottom two teams from the regular season must fight to defend their NACL slot against Open Qualifier challengers while the top two teams from Playoffs advance to the LCS Promotion Tournament for their shot at the LCS. Based on feedback from teams, we will also be adjusting the NACL start time to 2pm PDT.
Starting with the regular season, two groups of five teams will face off against each other in a cross-group single round-robin Best-of-Three (Bo3). The top three teams from each group will advance to Summer Playoffs with seeding based on their standing within the groups. The bottom two teams from each group will play a final Bo3 against each other in a Last Chance Qualifier match for the remaining two playoffs spots, while the losing teams face relegation in the NACL Promotion Tournament.
As the top two teams from NACL Spring Playoffs, Conviction and CGG Esports were granted the status of Draft Captains to draft teams into their group. As the winning team from Spring Playoffs, Conviction received first pick in the team draft.
Playoffs will feature a double elimination bracket with a high-stakes mix of Bo3 and Best-of-Five (Bo5) series. In addition to playoffs seeding being based on each team’s performance within their group, all teams from the group with the most wins gain a seeding advantage against teams from the opposing group. Like in Spring, all matches across the regular season and playoffs will feature both Fearless Draft and First Selection. For more details on First Selection, check out the LoL Esports Season Start announcement.
The top two teams from NACL Summer Playoffs will advance to the LCS Promotion Tournament to challenge the defending Guest Team — Disguised. For more information on the LCS Promotion Tournament, as well as the next NACL Open Qualifier which will be taking place in early 2027, make sure to stay tuned to lolesports.com and follow X.com/watchNACL for further updates.
Catch all the NACL action live on Twitch.tv/NACL and YouTube.com/@NACL starting July 16th. For the latest news, highlights, and dedicated NACL coverage, make sure to follow along at X.com/watchNACL. With LCS Promotion on the line, this is what every team has been fighting for — and it’s one you won’t want to miss.
