2026 LCK season

Season duration Unlike the previous year, the third split (Rounds 3–5), which originally follows a triple round-robin format, will be shortened to only a double round-robin format, namely Rounds 3–4. This is to give way for the South Korea national esports team for League of Legends preparations for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan. Teams Two team changes occurred heading into the 2026 season. On 22 December 2025, DN Freecs was renamed to DN SOOPers following the rebranding of live-streaming service AfreecaTV to SOOP. Days later on 2 January 2026, OKSavingsBank Brion was renamed to Hanjin Brion after a new sponsorship deal was signed between Brion and the Hanjin Group. An additional team change occurred before the start of the regular season, as DRX would be renamed to KIWOOM DRX on 19 March 2026 following a new sponsorship deal between DRX and Kiwoom Securities. == Road shows ==

Some games will be held outside of the CHZZK LoL Park in Seoul. On 27 November 2025, the LCK announced that Road to MSI will be held at the Wonju Gymnasium in Wonju from 12–14 June, while the LCK Finals Weekend will take place at the KSPO Dome from 12–13 September. On 27 January 2026, the Kai Tak Sports Park in Kowloon, Hong Kong, was chosen to host the LCK Cup Finals Weekend from 28 February to 1 March, marking the first LCK event to be held outside of South Korea. Teams will also host events with official games being played. On 28 January 2026, T1 announced two editions of the "T1 Home Ground" event for 2026, with the first being held from 24–26 April at the Inspire Arena in Incheon, and the second from 14–16 August at the KSPO Dome in Seoul. On 6 February 2026, DRX announced their own roadshow titled "DRX Homefront", to be held at the Vietnam Exposition Center in Hanoi from 8 to 10 May, marking the first LCK event to be held in Vietnam. == LCK Cup ==

Format and draft The LCK Cup featured ten (10) teams divided into two groups of five – Group Baron and Group Elder. A draft to determine the teams in each group was conducted on 7 January 2026, where the finalists from the 2025 LCK season, Gen.G (GEN) and Hanwha Life Esports (HLE), were assigned to Baron and Elder, respectively. As GEN were the defending champions, they had the choice to either have the first or second selection; eventually deciding to pick first. GEN and HLE took turns to make their first selections, with those selections picking the next teams in their respective groups in a snake format until all teams were selected into specific groups. The following were the results of the draft per group: Group Baron • 1st pick by Gen.G: T1 • 4th pick by T1: Nongshim RedForce • 5th pick by Nongshim RedForce: DN SOOPers • 8th pick by DN SOOPers: Hanjin Brion Group Elder • 2nd pick by Hanwha Life Esports: Dplus KIA • 3rd pick by Dplus KIA: KT Rolster • 6th pick by KT Rolster: BNK FearX • 7th pick by BNK FearX: DRX Each team played cross matches against the other group in a single round-robin format, where all matches were played in best-of-threes except for the third week of the tournament, which was known as a "Super Week" where matches were best-of-fives. Accumulated results of teams in their respective groups were used to determine a Winners group and a Losers group. Unlike the inaugural tournament, the top two teams from the winners group and the highest-ranked team in the losers group directly advanced to the playoffs. The third to fifth-ranked teams from the winners group and the second to fourth-ranked teams from the losers group qualified for the play-in stage, while the bottom-ranked team from the latter group were eliminated. The play-in stage consisted of six teams in a semi double-elimination bracket consisting of best-of-three and best-of-five matches, with three teams advancing to the playoffs. The highest-ranked team amongst those qualified for the play-in stage received a bye to the second round and had the chance to choose their opponent. Consisting of six teams, the playoffs applied a double-elimination bracket where all matches were best-of-five series, with the top two teams from the winners group receiving a bye to the second round and the highest-ranked team from the losers group also getting a bye for the first round. In addition, the highest-ranked teams from each of the winners and losers group got the chance to select their opponents in their respective rounds. The finalists of the LCK Cup represented the region as its two representatives at the 2026 First Stand Tournament. Group Stage Venue: CHZZK LoL Park, Seoul, South Korea ;Group Baron Total Points: 16 ;Group Elder Total Points: 14 Play-ins Playoffs Venues: • CHZZK LoL Park, Seoul, South Korea • Kai Tak Arena, Kowloon, Hong Kong == Regular season ==

Rounds 1–2 and Road to MSI Format Both the first two rounds and the Road to MSI tournament will follow the same format as the previous season. Ten competing teams will participate in a double round-robin tournament, where all matches will be played in best-of-threes and the top six teams from those rounds qualifying for the Road to MSI best-of-five tournament qualifier for the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational, which will be hosted in South Korea. Road to MSI will consist of the top two teams contesting the region's first seed. The remaining four teams competing in a four-round single-elimination king-of-the hill tournament, with the fifth and sixth-ranked teams beginning in round one; the fourth-ranked team seeded in round two, and the third-ranked team seeded in round three. In round four, the loser of the first-seed playoff will go up against the winner of round three for a spot at MSI 2026 as the region's second seed. If an LCK team wins the 2026 First Stand Tournament, both of its representatives at MSI will have a bye to the bracket stage. Rounds 1–2 Venue: CHZZK LoL Park, Seoul, South Korea Rounds 3–4 Format Based on the standings from the first two rounds of the season, the ten teams will be ranked and divided into two groups – Legend Group (consisting of the top five teams) and Rise Group (consisting of the bottom five teams), with their first two rounds' records carried over. Unlike in the previous season, each team in their respective groups will play best-of-three matches in a double-round robin format. The top two teams from the legend group will advance to the second round of playoffs, while the next two ranked teams (third and fourth) will qualify for the first round of playoffs. The fifth-ranked team from the legend group and the top three teams from the rise group will be placed in the play-ins, and the bottom two teams of said group will be eliminated. Play-ins Four teams will contest a GSL-style bracket, where the fifth-ranked team in the legend group will face the highest-ranked team from the rise group for the fifth seed in the playoffs. The other two teams will go up against each other in an elimination series, with the winner facing the loser of the fifth-seed match to contest the sixth playoff spot. == Playoffs ==

The six remaining teams will contest the playoffs in a double-elimination format, where all matches will be played in best-of-fives. The top three teams from the playoffs will secure qualification for the 2026 League of Legends World Championship, with the winner of the LCK Finals being crowned the Season Champion. If an LCK team finishes as a finalist at the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational, a fourth slot will be unlocked for the league. == References ==