LoL Worlds 2026 Locations, Dates, and Teams Revealed

Owen Harsono Last updated 09/10/2026

The 2026 League of Legends World Championship is almost here. This is the time when the best LoL teams in the world battle it out over a thrilling few weeks to be crowned world champions. This is the highlight of the competitive calendar for many, with 19 teams competing in the United States from October 15.

On this page we will give you everything there is to know about Worlds 2026. This includes the locations, key dates, and which teams will be battling it out on Summoner’s Rift.

LoL Worlds 2026 Heads to the USA

There is excitement filling the air as Worlds returns to North America for the first time in four years. Last time out, it was one of the most memorable tournaments to date. The DRX miracle run, Lil Nas X performing the opening ceremony, and who can forget Deft’s epic Nexus denial with the inhibitor respawning?

But which cities will get the privilege of hosting one of esports’ biggest events? Here is everything to know about the Worlds locations:

Worlds 2026 is headed to the States. (Image via Riot Games)

Play-In Stage (15-18 October)

• Location: Riot Games Arena
• Capacity: 300

Although most of the tournament will be on the road, Worlds starts closer to home, kicking off on October 15. The Play-in stage will take place in the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles, home to the LCS and VCT Americas. For one LCS team, they will have all the familiarity they need to put together a strong Play-in stage.

Riot made the important decision to exclude LCK and LPL teams from competing in the Play-in stage this year. As MSI 2026 showcased, it can be a little deflating for the competing teams when only one team gets out, and that team is the defending world champions, T1.

Swiss Stage, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals (23-31 Oct and 3-8 Nov)

• Location: Credit Union of Texas Event Center – Allen, Texas
• Capacity: Maximum 8,600

After several successful events over the past couple of years, Texas will play host to the Worlds Swiss stage and Playoffs, excluding the Grand Final. This is where the tournament starts to ramp up, and the hype amplifies. The best teams from this stage are all in attendance, including the likes of T1, BLG, Gen.G, Hanwha Life, G2, and NA’s own squads. Fans are eagerly anticipating the daily draws, which have become a staple of the Swiss stage. You can expect up to 8,000 fans in attendance at the venue.

Grand Final (14 November)

• Location: Barclays Center – Brooklyn, New York
• Capacity: 19,000

There was only one place that Riot was going to take the Worlds finals, and that was New York City. The City that never sleeps will once again host a major League of Legends event, having hosted Worlds 2022 for the Group Stage. This is where fans will get to see the spectacle that is the finals opening ceremony, a feature of Worlds dating back to 2014.

Which Teams Are Participating at Worlds 2026?

19 of the world’s best teams will do battle at Worlds 2026. Five of the six regions will have three slots, with the CBLoL returning to the Worlds stage getting two, along with an extra slot allocated for the MSI 2026 winner and the region with the second-best performance at MSI. This meant that Hanwha Life locked their ticket to Worlds early, and BLG secured the LPL an extra slot.

Here is the full list of competitors for Worlds 2026:

Play-in: 

• Cloud9 (LCS)
• Karmine Corp (LEC)
• MVK Esports (LCP)
• TBD (CBLoL)

Swiss Stage: 

• Gen.G (LCK)
• Hanwha Life Esports (LCK)
• Dplus KIA (LCK)
• T1 (LCK)
• Bilibili Gaming (LPL)
• Anyone’s Legend (LPL)
• Top Esports (LPL)
• Invictus Gaming (LPL)
• Team Liquid (LCS)
• LYON (LCS)
• G2 Esports (LEC)
• Movistar Koi (LEC)
• Team Secret Whales (LCP)
• CTBC Flying Oyster (LCP)
• TBD (CBLoL)

Worlds 2026 is taking place all the way to the grand final on November 14, and the event is being covered extensively by League of Legends prediction markets as well as LoL betting sites.

Image credit: Riot Games

Owen Harsono

About Owen Harsono

Owen lives for competition, spending most of his gaming hours on Dota 2, CS2, and Valorant. A regular on the SEA Dota 2 leaderboards, he combines his first-hand experience with a deep passion for esports journalism, following the professional scenes of all three esports betting titles religiously. When he’s not writing, he’s most probably betting on esports and watching the latest events.

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