The LCS Makes an Exciting Return in 2026
After a year’s hiatus as the LTA North, the LCS returns to professional League of Legends. The first event of the year for the North American region is the Lock-In tournament. Eight teams compete for the LCS title and one spot at the First Stand International Event in Brazil. The tournament begins on January 24th with a Swiss Stage that will decide the seeding for the Playoffs.
LCS Lock-In Tournament Format
The tournament starts with a Swiss Stage. All matches are Best-of-Three with Fearless Draft format. Only one team can go 3-0 or 0-3. If a team goes 3-0, they get to choose their opponent in the Upper Bracket. Elimination awaits the 0-3 team. One team with a 1-2 record will automatically advance. The other two must play an elimination match. The match records determine the automatic qualification. The winning team from the Playoffs qualifies for the First Stand International Event.
LCS Lock-In Week One Schedule
A draw show determined the matches for the first week of the Swiss Stage. The results for teams decide their potential opponents in later rounds of the Swiss Stage. The initial matchups are:
January 24th
- Cloud9 Versus Team Liquid
- Team Sentinels Versus Disguised
January 25th
- FlyQuest Versus Shopify Rebellion
- LYON Versus Dignitas
LCS Lock-In Rosters
Eight teams compete in the first LCS tournament. All eight have different rosters this year.
Cloud9
- Thanatos – Top Lane
- Blaber – Jungle
- APA – Mid Lane
- Zven – Bot Lane
- Vulcan – Support
Dignitas
- Photon – Top Lane
- eXyu – Jungle
- Palafox – Mid Lane
- FBI – Bot Lane
- Ignar – Support
Disguised
- Castle – Top Lane
- KryRa – Jungle
- Callme – Mid Lane
- Sajed – Bot Lane
- Lyonz – Support
FlyQuest
- Gakgos – Top Lane
- Gryffin – Jungle
- Quad – Mid Lane
- Massu – Bot Lane
- Cryogen – Support
LYON
- Zamundo – Top Lane
- Inspired – Jungle
- Saint – Mid Lane
- Beserker – Bot Lane
- Isles – Support
Sentinels
- Impact – Top Lane
- HamBak – Jungle
- DARKWINGS – Mid Lane
- Rahel – Bot Lane
- huhi – Support
Shopify Rebellion
- Fudge – Top Lane
- Contractz – Jungle
- Zinie – Mid Lane
- Bvoy – Bot Lane
- Ceos – Support
Team Liquid
- Morgan – Top Lane
- Josedeodo – Jungle
- Quid – Mid Lane
- Yeon – Bot Lane
- Support – CoreJJ
Changes to the LCS in 2026
The LCS and CBLOL will not have top-tier tournaments together in 2026. Instead, they will host the Americas Cup. That event will take place a week before First Stand, which occurs over five days. The second and third-place teams from LCS and CBLOL will participate in the event. The first round of Upper Bracket matches are Best-of-Three, while the rest are Best-of-Five. The Americas Cup winner will earn a paid spot at the MSI Bootcamp. They will join the third-place LCS team and the second and third-place teams from the CBLOL. If a team already has a slot, they will pass it down to the league.
Road Shows Return
The LCS wants to bring more road shows in 2026. Given their success in the LEC and LCK, as well as fan sentiments, they believe this is the best path to follow. The events will take place outside of Los Angeles. Further information on the road shows is not available, but is sure to follow in the upcoming weeks.
Split 2 and 3 Information
Splits 2 and 3 will have identical formats. A Best-of-Three round robin stage will lead into a Playoff Bracket. Two teams from Spring qualify for MSI. Three teams will advance to the World Championship at the end of the year. The Playoff Bracket in Split 2 will mirror the Lock-In Tournament format. However, Split 3’s Playoff Bracket is identical to the Playoffs from the LTA North Split 3 in 2024.
More LCS and LoL Esports News
- LCS Rebrand
- LCK Season Opening
- LEC Versus Schedule
- First Week in LoL Esports
