© 2026 Riot Games. All Rights Reserved.
© 2026 Riot Games. All Rights Reserved.
The 2026 League of Legends Esports season has arrived, and the excitement is already building. After an unforgettable 2025 marked by dramatic storylines, major format shifts, and T1 cementing their legacy with a historic third consecutive World Championship, the stage is set for an even bigger year. With fresh updates shaping the meta and a full calendar of high-stakes competition, here’s everything to look forward to as the 2026 season gets underway.
Make sure to tune in to your favorite region as competition kicks off beginning this month!
There’s no better way to kick off the year than with the first global tournament of the season: First Stand.
From March 16–22, FST heads to São Paulo, Brazil, live from the Riot Games Arena, the beating heart of CBLOL. Brazil has long been home to some of the world’s most passionate fans, and we couldn't be more excited to bring an international event back since 2017.
The 2026 edition brings together eight teams, representing the global strength of League of Legends Esports:
Every match will be a best-of-five, ensuring deeper adaptation, more high-stakes moments, and an early-season showcase of regional identity and individual brilliance. With Fearless Draft shaping the future of how teams adapt across a series, expect creativity, tension, and more opportunities for emerging strategies to take center stage. Every match matters, as FST placement will have a direct impact on MSI seeding, including a Play-In Stage bye for the winning region.
Tickets for FST will go on sale via Eventim at 1 pm BRT/8 am PST January 20.
Following First Stand, the competition heats up as the Mid-Season Invitational arrives in Daejeon, South Korea, marking the first time MSI has landed in this dynamic and tech-forward city. MSI has long been a proving ground for the best teams of spring, and bringing the tournament to Daejeon introduces a new stage for global rivalries and international narratives to unfold.
More information on the venue and event details will be shared soon.
Later this year, the 2026 League of Legends World Championship returns to North America, beginning with a location that made a statement last season.
Worlds 2026 will kick off at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas—a venue that delivered electric energy during the 2025 LTA Championship. Just north of Dallas–Fort Worth, it offers an arena-sized stage capable of welcoming thousands of fans as early Worlds storylines unfold.
We chose this venue not only for its ability to host a large and passionate crowd, but also for its central location, making it easier for fans across North America to join the action. Its success last year, combined with the enthusiasm of the local community, made it the perfect site for Play-Ins, Swiss Stage, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals.
For the biggest moment of the season, the Worlds Final heads to New York! Worlds 2026 will celebrate the legacy, creativity, and global unity of League of Legends on a stage built for unforgettable finales.
As we head into the new season, we’re continuing to refine how League is played at the highest level. Following the success of Fearless Draft, our Competitive Operations team has been closely analyzing match data and gathering feedback from pro teams around the world. One standout finding was the variance in side win rates. Multiple factors contribute to side advantage, and simply strengthening one side wouldn’t address the deeper competitive dynamics driving those outcomes.
Instead, we explored solutions that prioritize player and team agency rather than system-driven advantages. After detailed discussions with regional leagues, pro teams, and our gameplay team, we’re introducing a new approach called “First Selection.”
Here’s how it works:
Teams who previously earned side selection will now earn first selection, meaning they choose one of the following:
Once that choice is made, the opposing team will get their choice of the remaining option. So if Team A chooses Blue Side, Team B will choose whether they draft first or second. If Team A chooses First Pick, Team B will choose which side they’ll play on.
This update gives pro teams more strategic flexibility to shape their game plan based on comfort, preparation, and opponent scouting, not on a baked-in advantage tied to color.
First Selection will roll out in all regions at the start of the season! We’ll continue monitoring, gathering feedback, and evaluating how First Selection performs throughout the 2026 season to ensure it delivers the competitive depth and balance we’re aiming for.
The Hall of Legends, our celebration of the icons who have defined League of Legends Esports, will return later than in previous years, arriving ahead of Worlds 2026. While details remain under wraps for now, fans can expect our third inductee to be another legendary figure whose impact has shaped the evolution of LoL Esports. More information will be shared in the months ahead.
At the LoL Showcase ahead of the 2025 Worlds Final, we shared an important update about how we’re continuing to modernize our financial structure to better support the future of our sport.
Beginning in 2026, we’re removing regional split prize pools in Global Revenue Pool regions and redirecting those funds into deeper, more impactful areas. Over time, the sums contributed to regional prize pools resulted in comparatively small payouts for individual players, while the total investment across leagues has grown into a meaningful amount, one that can more effectively support long-term ecosystem development when used more strategically. NOTE: Due to differing partnership models, prize pools for CBLOL and LCP will not be affected.
This shift reflects both our confidence in the maturity of the global ecosystem and our commitment to evolving the way we invest in the sport. Prize pools for international events—including First Stand, MSI, and Worlds—will continue to be funded by the GRP.
This update is part of our broader effort to build a more connected, sustainable, and exciting future for League of Legends Esports, while reinforcing the progress made this past year.
The new season marks the start of another exciting year of competition, innovation, and community celebration across the world. From Brazil to Korea to North America, LoL Esports continues to grow, evolve, and push toward new horizons. To every team, every player, and every fan: welcome to the 2026 season!
