Worlds 2026 scheduled to start Oct. 15; Riot lists 19 qualified teams

Worlds 2026 will begin October 15 in North America; Riot's posted format and the 19-team field are confirmed in this guide.

In this brief: 3 sections 2 min read

- Start date: October 15, 2026 — tournament runs through November 14 at Barclays Center, New York.
- Worlds returns to North America for the first time since 2022.
- Broadcasts: Riot’s official Twitch, YouTube and TikTok channels; Riot will post updates on X and Instagram.
- Three stages: Play-In, Swiss, Knockouts.
- Play-In: includes LCS/LEC/LCP #3 seeds and CBLOL #2; double-elimination to advance one team to Swiss.
- Swiss: 16 teams (four from LCK/LPL, top two from LCS/LEC/LCP, CBLOL champion, Play-In winner). Rounds include BO1 and BO3 for qualification/elimination matches.
- Knockouts: single-elimination BO5 bracket culminating in the final.
- LCS: Cloud9, Team Liquid, LYON/Shopify Rebellion, FlyQuest.
- LEC: G2 Esports, Movistar KOI, Karmine Corp.
- LCK: Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, T1, Dplus KIA.
- LPL: Anyone’s Legend, Bilibili Gaming, Invictus Gaming.
- CBLOL and LCP allocations noted; full list and regional notes in source.

Useful?