LoL Worlds 2026 returns to the USA: Locations, venues, dates and slots revealed

Owen Harsono Published 23/03/2026

Riot Games have revealed important details for the highly anticipated worlds 2026 tournament, including locations, dates, and some great news for South American fans. Here’s everything we know about LoL Worlds 2026 so far.

LoL Worlds 2026 Heads to the USA

On March 22, First Stand grand finals day held in São Paulo, Riot Games confirmed the tournament will be hosted in the United States.

This will be the fifth time in history that Worlds has been held in the U.S. The last iteration was in 2022, when DRX pulled off an upset against T1 to claim the title. The announcement also included details on the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) 2026.

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

LoL Worlds 2026 Dates and Locations Confirmed

Worlds 2026 will feature four stages, which will take place in three different states. Here’s how Riot has outlined the plan:

Play-In Stage (15-18 October)

• Location: Riot Games Arena – Los Angeles, California
• Capacity: 300 – 400 people

The Play-In stage will be held at the Riot Games Arena, which has primarily been used for LCS and VCT Americas matches. It’s a small studio environment, with roughly 300 to 400 seats. Not many high-profile teams will be competing in this phase just yet.

Swiss Stage and Playoffs (23-31 October and 3-8 November)

• Location: Credit Union of Texas Event Center – Allen, Texas
• Capacity: 8,000 people

The Swiss Stage and the majority of the playoffs will be decided in Texas, at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center. Things start ramping up here, as teams will be weeded out one after the other. 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 people

After a week’s intermission, the two remaining teams will face off in the Worlds 2026 Grand Final. The Barclays Center in New York will serve as the battleground, giving enough room for nearly 20,000 fans to witness LoL history.

Slot Allocation for LoL Worlds 2026

Though none of the teams have secured their spots at Worlds just yet, Riot has also revealed the slot allocation for the tournament. Here’s how they’ve been distributed:

This brings us to a total of 19 teams that will secure spots at the event. However, as is typical for Worlds tournaments, not all of them will make it to the main event. Several teams will begin their run in the Play-In Stage, where they will fight for a place in the Swiss Stage providing plenty of LoL esports betting opportunities.

CBLOL Secures Two Slots Instead of One

Perhaps the biggest change to this year’s Worlds format is the additional slot for CBLOL. This region represents Brazil and Southern LATAM. However, we believe the additional team will most likely start in the Play-Ins.

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.

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