The key to an LCK five-peat is… ‘2026 Worlds’ kicks off on the 16th - 스포츠경향
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Gen.G, Hanwha Life, and BLG (China) in a ‘Big Three’ race… T1 aiming for a four-peat also draws interest
The Summoner's Cup. Courtesy of Riot Games
The ‘2026 League of Legends (LoL) World Championship’ (Worlds), which determines the world's best ‘League of Legends (LoL)’ team, will raise the curtain on the 16th, starting with the Play-In in Los Angeles, USA. Since 2022, Korea's LCK has produced the champion four years in a row, and will push for an unprecedented five-peat with Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, T1, and Dplus KIA (DK).
A total of 19 teams from six regions, including the LCK, will compete at this year's Worlds. From the LPL (China), Anyone's Legend (AL), Bilibili Gaming (BLG), Top Esports (TES), and Invictus Gaming (IG) will participate; from the LEC (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), G2 Esports, Movistar KOI (MKOI), and Karmine Corp (KC); and from the LCS (North America), Team Liquid, LYON, and Cloud9 earned berths.
From the LCP (Asia-Pacific), Team Secret Whales (TSW), CTBC Flying Oyster (CFO), and MVK Esports enter, and from the CBLOL (Brazil), LOS and FURIA will compete.
The tournament unfolds in three phases: Play-In, Swiss, and Knockout. The Play-In, held October 16-19 at Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles, features four lower-seeded teams from each region. It will be a best-of-five, double-elimination bracket, with only one team surviving. The Play-In field consists of Karmine Corp from the LEC, Cloud9 from the LCS, MVK from the LCP, and FURIA from the CBLOL.
The Gen.G squad celebrate, hoisting the trophy moments after clinching the title with a 3-1 set score over Hanwha Life Esports in the 2026 LCK final held on the 13th of last month at KSPO Dome in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Yonhap News
The true title race begins with the Swiss Stage starting on the 24th in Allen, Texas. Including the one team advancing from the Play-In, 16 teams will play up to five rounds. The eight teams to reach three wins first will advance to the Knockout Stage, and teams with three losses will be eliminated. For the first round, a draw will place teams into four pools, taking into account strength and regional seeds.
Gen.G are assigned to Pool 1, Hanwha Life to Pool 2, T1 to Pool 3, and DK to Pool 4. Teams in Pool 1 face teams in Pool 4 for their first match, and teams in Pool 2 face teams in Pool 4, with teams from the same region not meeting in Round 1. From Round 2 onward, teams with the same win-loss record will be matched.
The eight teams that make it through the Swiss Stage will enter a single-elimination Knockout Stage from November 4. The quarterfinals and semifinals will take place in Allen, Texas, and the final will be held at 4 a.m. KST on November 15 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The T1 roster. Courtesy of Riot Games
As for title favorites, the LCK and LPL are again at the forefront. In Riot Games' global power rankings updated through the 11th, Hanwha Life sit first and Gen.G second. China's BLG are third, Europe's G2 fourth, and T1 fifth. In regional power scores, the LCK leads with 1389 points, ahead of the LPL's 1362. On objective strength metrics alone, Hanwha Life and Gen.G are out front, with BLG in pursuit.
However, these are official strength indices, not a ‘predicted champion ranking’. Asked to name the strongest team currently in the LCK, many point to Gen.G, this year's LCK champions.
Gen.G defeated Hanwha Life 3-1 in last month's 2026 LCK final to claim back-to-back titles. Along with a record seventh LCK championship, they secured the No. 1 seed for Worlds. Having dominated the domestic stage this season, they are naturally among the foremost favorites at Worlds. Led by ‘Kiin’ Kim Ki-in, ‘Canyon’ Kim Geon-bu, ‘Chovy’ Jeong Ji-hoon, ‘Ruler’ Park Jae-hyeok, and ‘Duro’ Joo Min-gyu, Gen.G have shown high completeness in both laning and teamfights. In particular, Chovy was named MVP of this year's LCK regular season.
BLG's ‘Viper’ Park Do-hyeon. Courtesy of Riot Games
In China, although AL took the No. 1 seed, the de facto strongest side is BLG, powered by ‘Viper’ Park Do-hyeon. Having consistently competed at the top of international events in recent years, BLG have also built experience by facing LCK teams on big stages multiple times. With individual mechanics and skirmishing in which they yield little to anyone, they are likely the most threatening opponents to the LCK.
Still, the name you cannot leave out at Worlds is T1. T1 won Worlds three years running from 2023 to 2025. If they lift the trophy this year, they will set an unprecedented record of four straight titles by a single team. Although they showed some inconsistency in the LCK this season, T1 at Worlds is hard to assess on regular-season form alone. In 2024 they were not rated as an overwhelming favorite before the tournament, yet they ultimately finished on top, and last year they survived to the final and kept the cup. With ‘Faker’ Lee Sang-hyeok at the core and a repeated knack for rising in big matches, T1 remain an unmissable title contender this time as well.
There is a regional record at stake for the LCK, too. Starting with DRX's triumph in 2022, T1 completed a three-peat from 2023 to 2025 to make it four straight Worlds titles for the LCK. Of the 15 Worlds held to date, LCK teams have won 10; if they reach the summit again this year, the LCK will clinch an 11th crown and complete an unheard-of run of five consecutive championships.
