2026 LCP season

LeagueLCP

SportLeague of Legends

Duration

16 January – 1 March
(Split 1)
4 April – 7 June
(Split 2)

Teams8

2026 LCP season
League	LCP
Sport	League of Legends
Duration	16 January – 1 March (Split 1) 4 April – 7 June (Split 2)
Teams	8
Split 1
Champions	Secret Whales
Runners-up	Deep Cross Gaming
Season MVP	Trần "Dire" Duy Đức (Secret Whales)
Split 2
Split 3
LCP seasons
← 2025 2027 →

The 2026 LCP season is the ongoing second season of the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP), an Asia-Pacific esports league for the video game League of Legends by developer Riot Games and tournament organizer Carry International. It will consist of eight teams participating in three splits, with each split qualifying teams to three international tournaments. The season began on 16 January.

Championship points

Starting in 2026, the LCP will utilize the championship points system in determining the second team to qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational and the third team to qualify for the League of Legends World Championship.^[1]^[2]

Playoff matches and side selection

Unlike the league's inaugural season where the first few playoff series were best-of-threes, all playoff matches in 2026 will be contested in best-of-five series. Side selection during the first game of each series will now be decided by a duos match as opposed to one-on-one solo matches from the previous season.^[1]

Teams

Three team changes occurred heading into the 2026 season. Chiefs Esports Club of Australia, one of the guest teams that participated in the 2025 LCP season, was relegated after losing to Deep Cross Gaming of Taiwan from the Pacific Championship Series (PCS) in the finals of the league's promotion and relegation free-for-all bracket.^[3] MGN Vikings Esports of Vietnam retained its spot in the league after beating Saigon Dino of the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) in the regional merit match.^[4]

Prior to the start of the 2026 season, MGN Vikings Esports rebranded to MVK Esports and Deep Cross Gaming entered into a title sponsorship with Taiwanese care brand Relove. The team renamed to Relove Deep Cross Gaming.

On 18 November 2025, Riot Games announced that PSG Talon of Taiwan, one of the four LCP partners, was removed from the league, with Riot citing financial issues as the main reason why they were removed. This came after reports surfaced of the organization failing to pay their players and staff in a timely manner. Talon noted in a statement that these issues came from funding delays stemming from their most recent financing round.^[5] On 22 December, Riot Games announced that Ground Zero Gaming of Taiwan (formerly of Australia) would replace PSG Talon in the LCP for 2026 as a guest team, with Ground Zero required to field a roster from the PCS region.^[6]

Guest teams

Five guest teams will compete in the 2026 season – Deep Cross Gaming and Ground Zero Gaming from Taiwan, Secret Whales and MVK Esports from Vietnam, and DetonatioN FocusMe from Japan. The two bottom-ranked teams at the conclusion of the third split will compete in a promotion and relegation tournament against the top teams from the Tier 2 leagues (currently consisting of the PCS, VCS, LJL and a "Wild Card" spot) based on their location.

Split 1

Format

Split 1 featured all eight (8) teams competing in a single-round robin tournament where all matches were played in best-of-threes, with the top six (6) teams qualifying for the playoffs. The playoffs were a hybrid double elimination bracket with best-of-five matches, with the winner of Split 1 qualifying to represent the league as its lone representative at the 2026 First Stand Tournament.^[7]^[2]

Regular season

Venue: LCP Arena, Taipei, Taiwan

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PCT	Qualification
1	Secret Whales	7	6	1	.857	Playoffs
2	Relove Deep Cross Gaming	7	6	1	.857
3	GAM Esports	7	4	3	.571
4	Ground Zero Gaming	7	4	3	.571
5	CTBC Flying Oyster	7	3	4	.429
6	SoftBank Hawks	7	3	4	.429
7	MVK Esports	7	2	5	.286	Eliminated
8	DetonatioN FocusMe	7	0	7	.000	Eliminated

Updated to match(es) played on 8 February 2026. Source: LoL Esports

Qualifying Series

As the highest-ranked team in Round 1, GAM Esports had the chance to select their opponents. Secret Whales also earned the right to select their opponents in Round 2 being the top seed.

Bracket

Venue: LCP Arena, Taipei, Taiwan


Upper quarterfinals			Upper semifinals			Upper final			Final

			14 February

12 February			1	Secret Whales	3

3	GAM Esports	0	6	SoftBank Hawks	1	26 February

6	SoftBank Hawks	3				1	Secret Whales	3

			15 February			2	Relove Deep Cross Gaming	2

13 February			2	Relove Deep Cross Gaming	3

4	Ground Zero Gaming	3	4	Ground Zero Gaming	1
									1 March
5	CTBC Flying Oyster	1
									1	Secret Whales	3

									2	Relove Deep Cross Gaming	0

			Lower semifinals			Lower final


						28 February

			27 February			2	Relove Deep Cross Gaming	3

			6	SoftBank Hawks	3	6	SoftBank Hawks	2

			4	Ground Zero Gaming	1

Source: LoL Esports

Awards

Award	Player	Team
Finals MVP	Dire	Secret Whales
Team of the Split
	Evi	SoftBank Hawks
	Hizto	Secret Whales
	Dire
	Eddie
	ShiauC	Relove Deep Cross Gaming

Split 2

Format

Similar to Split 1, Split 2 will have the same eight (8) teams competing in a single-round robin tournament where all matches will be played in best-of-threes. The top six (6) teams qualifying for the playoffs, applying a hybrid double-elimination bracket as with Split 1. All playoff matches will be played in best-of-fives, with the winner of Split 2 qualifying for the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational as the region's first seed. The second team to qualify for MSI 2025 from the LCP will be the team with the most number of championship points at the end of Split 2, and will be the region's second seed.^[7]^[8] Playoff seeding principles remain unclear.^[2]

If an LCP team wins the 2026 First Stand Tournament, both of its representatives at MSI will have a bye to the bracket stage.

Regular season

Venue: LCP Arena, Taipei, Taiwan

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PCT	Qualification
1	Secret Whales	4	4	0	1.000	Playoffs
2	SoftBank Hawks	4	3	1	.750
3	MVK Esports	4	3	1	.750
4	GAM Esports	4	3	1	.750
5	CTBC Flying Oyster	4	1	3	.250
6	Relove Deep Cross Gaming	4	1	3	.250
7	Ground Zero Gaming	4	1	3	.250	Eliminated
8	DetonatioN FocusMe	4	0	4	.000	Eliminated

Updated to match(es) played on 26 April 2026. Source: LoL Esports

Split 3

Format

The third split will follow a Swiss stage format consisting of best-of-three matches for the first two rounds and the 1-1 bracket, and best-of-five matches for qualification and elimination series. The teams that win three matches first will secure their spot in the playoffs, but seeding will be determined by a series of best-of-five seeding matches.

In between the 2-1 and 1-2 brackets, the team that lost in the 2-0 match will face the team that won in the 0-2 match. The outcome of the said series will have an impact in the final swiss stage round and in the seeding matches for the playoffs, with the following scenarios:^[8]

If the loser of the 2-0 match wins against the winner of the 0-2 match, that team will advance to the playoffs while the other team will be eliminated, and only one 2-2 bracket match will be played. In seeding matches for the playoffs, the two teams that finished 3-1 will face off in a series, with the loser automatically earning the third seed. The winner of said series will go up against the team that finished with a 3-0 record, with the winner earning the first seed and the loser getting the second seed. The team that finished with a 3-2 record will automatically secure the fourth seed. In addition, the two teams that were eliminated will also contest a seeding match, with the winner earning five (5) championship points.
If the winner of the 0-2 match wins against the loser of the 2-0 match, both teams will advance to the 2-2 bracket, which will have two matches. In seeding matches for the playoffs, the team that finished with a 3-0 record will face the team that finished with a 3-1 record, with the winner securing the first seed and the loser getting the second seed. The two teams that were eliminated in the 2-2 bracket will also contest a seeding match, with the winner earning five (5) championship points. It is currently unclear on what seed will the two (2) 3-2 teams have.

The playoffs will be a double-elimination format, with all matches played in best-of-fives. The finalists of Split 3 will qualify for the 2026 League of Legends World Championship, with the Season Champion earning the first seed. The team that had the most number of championship points at the end of the season will also earn their spot in the tournament as the third seed.^[8] If an LCP team finishes as a finalist at the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational, a fourth slot will be unlocked for the league.

Draw

For the first round of the swiss stage, the top four (4) teams from the previous split will be drawn against the bottom four (4) teams. Teams with the same win-loss record will be drawn against each other in subsequent rounds, but teams are not allowed to play each other twice unless no other option is available.^[8]

v t e 2026 in professional League of Legends competition
International	First Stand Tournament Mid-Season Invitational Esports World Cup World Championship
Regional	CBLOL LCK LCP LCS LEC LPL

Championship points

Playoff matches and side selection

Teams

Guest teams

Split 1

Format

Regular season

Qualifying Series

Bracket

Awards

Split 2

Format

Regular season

Split 3

Format

Draw

Championship points

MSI 2026 qualification

World Championship qualification

References

Related Articles

Pos	Team	S1	Total	Qualification
1	Secret Whales	37	37	2026 Mid-Season Invitational
2	Deep Cross Gaming	28	28	2026 Mid-Season Invitational
3	SoftBank Hawks	12	12
4	Ground Zero Gaming	10	10
5	GAM Esports	8	8
6	CTBC Flying Oyster	3	3
7	MVK Esports	1	1
8	DetonatioN FocusMe	0	0

Pos	Team	S1+S2	Total	Qualification
1	Secret Whales	37	37	2026 World Championship
2	Deep Cross Gaming	28	28
3	SoftBank Hawks	12	12
4	Ground Zero Gaming	10	10
5	GAM Esports	8	8
6	CTBC Flying Oyster	3	3
7	MVK Esports	1	1
8	DetonatioN FocusMe	0	0