2026 LEC season
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- 17 January – 1 March
(LEC Versus) - 28 March – 7 June
(Spring) - TBA
(Summer)
10 (Spring & Summer)
| 2026 LEC season | |
|---|---|
| League | LEC |
| Sport | League of Legends |
| Duration |
|
| Teams | 12 (LEC Versus) 10 (Spring & Summer) |
| LEC Versus | |
| Winners | G2 Esports |
| Runners-up | Karmine Corp |
| Season MVP | Rasmus "Caps" Winther (G2 Esports) |
| Spring | |
| Summer | |
The 2026 LEC season is the ongoing 14th season of the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), a professional esports league for the video game League of Legends. It is the first LEC season since 2018, then known as the European League Championship Series (EU LCS), to feature teams from the Tier 2 EMEA Regional Leagues (ERLs), as two teams were invited to compete in the league's first split.
The season began on 17 January.
First split
On 23 October 2025, the LEC announced that the Winter Split would be removed and will be replaced with the "LEC Versus" tournament, featuring the ten (10) LEC partner teams and two (2) EMEA Regional League (ERL) teams. The two invited teams will only compete in the said event but not in the Spring and Summer splits, as they will be returning to their respective leagues after the tournament.[1]
Teams
For the LEC Versus event, twelve teams competed. Aside from the ten (10) LEC teams, two (2) EMEA Regional League (ERL) teams were invited. One of which was Karmine Corp Blue (academy team of Karmine Corp) of the Ligue Française de League of Legends (LFL) as the 2025 EMEA Masters Summer Split champions. The other invited team was Los Ratones of the Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC), founded and coached by former LEC player and caster Marc "Caedrel" Lamont, as the best performing team across the ERLs during the 2025 EMEA Masters season.[2] Both teams were eligible to qualify for the 2026 First Stand Tournament in Brazil.
On 15 December 2025, Team BDS rebranded to Shifters. BDS announced a change of brand identity in June 2025, following the hiring of Alexandre Lopez as their new CEO to replace team founder Patrice Bailo De Spoelberch.[3] De Spoelberch was removed from his position in November 2024 following a now-deleted post on X that criticized women who underwent abortion.[4]
Formats
Both the Spring and Summer splits will follow the same format, removing the groups format from the 2025 Summer split.[5]
Road shows
Some games of the 2026 season will be held outside of the Riot Games Arena in Berlin. On 15 January 2026, the LEC announced six events of the "LEC Roadtrip" across Spain and France hosted by Movistar KOI and Karmine Corp, respectively. Barcelona will host the LEC Versus Finals Weekend from 27 February–1 March at the Olimpic Arena, while Madrid will stage two events at the Madrid Arena from 8–10 May for the Spring Split and from 4–6 September for the Summer Split. Paris will also host two events: one from 24–26 April at the Les Arènes for the Spring Split and another during the Summer Split, with details yet to be announced. The 2026 LEC Summer Split Finals Weekend will also be held in a road show.[6]
LEC Versus
Format
The LEC Versus event featured twelve (12) teams competing in a single-round robin tournament where all matches were played in best-of-ones. The top eight (8) teams qualified for the playoffs, which will be an eight-team Double-elimination tournament bracket. Matches in the first two upper and lower rounds were contested in best-of-threes, while subsequent matches until the finals were played in best-of-fives. The winner of the LEC Versus event represented the league as its lone representative at the 2026 First Stand Tournament.[5]
Regular season
Venue: Riot Games Arena, Berlin, Germany
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karmine Corp | 11 | 8 | 3 | .727 | Playoffs |
| 2 | Natus Vincere | 11 | 7 | 4 | .636 | |
| 3 | Team Vitality | 11 | 7 | 4 | .636 | |
| 4 | Team Heretics | 11 | 6 | 5 | .545 | |
| 5 | GIANTX | 11 | 6 | 5 | .545 | |
| 6 | Movistar KOI | 11 | 6 | 5 | .545 | |
| 7 | G2 Esports | 11 | 6 | 5 | .545 | |
| 8 | Fnatic | 11 | 5 | 6 | .455 | |
| 9 | Los Ratones | 11 | 5 | 6 | .455 | Eliminated |
| 10 | Shifters | 11 | 5 | 6 | .455 | |
| 11 | SK Gaming | 11 | 3 | 8 | .273 | |
| 12 | Karmine Corp Blue | 11 | 2 | 9 | .182 |
Playoffs
Venues:
- Riot Games Arena, Berlin, Germany
- Olimpic Arena, Barcelona, Spain
| Upper quarterfinals | Upper semifinals | Upper final | Final | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 February – Berlin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Karmine Corp | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 20 February – Berlin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | GIANTX | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Karmine Corp | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 February – Berlin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | G2 Esports | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Team Heretics | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 23 February – Berlin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | G2 Esports | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | G2 Esports | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 February – Berlin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Movistar KOI | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Natus Vincere | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 20 February – Berlin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Fnatic | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Natus Vincere | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 February – Berlin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Movistar KOI | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Team Vitality | 0 | 1 March – Barcelona | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Movistar KOI | 2 | 7 | G2 Esports | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Karmine Corp | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower quarterfinals | Lower semifinals | Lower final | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 22 February – Berlin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21 February – Berlin | 2 | Natus Vincere | 1 | 28 February – Barcelona | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Team Heretics | 1 | 5 | GIANTX | 2 | 27 February – Barcelona | 6 | Movistar KOI | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | GIANTX | 2 | 5 | GIANTX | 0 | 1 | Karmine Corp | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| 22 February – Berlin | 1 | Karmine Corp | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 21 February – Berlin | 1 | Karmine Corp | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Team Vitality | 2 | 3 | Team Vitality | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Fnatic | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Source: LoL Esports
Awards
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Finals MVP | Caps | G2 Esports |