LEC 2026 shakes up the season with LEC Versus, Roadtrip expansion, and format changes

Riot Games has unveiled a sweeping overhaul of the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) for 2026, starting with the introduction of LEC Versus, a new tournament.

Instead of the traditional LEC Winter Split, the 2026 season will now open with LEC Versus, a 12-team invitational that brings together the 10 LEC partner organizations. Two elite squads invited by the developer from the European regional leagues will join to ignite fresh rivalries across Europe, while giving the academy teams a chance to match up against the best.

The developer has confirmed that Los Ratones, with back-to-back EMEA Masters titles and three consecutive NLC championships, will join the event as one of the invited contenders in 2026. The 2025 EMEA Masters Summer champions will also be invited to the event.

LEC Versus will feature a single round robin of best-of-ones, with the top eight advancing to a double-elimination playoff. The format ramps up in intensity with early rounds being best-of-threes, while the final stages are best-of-fives, allowing every team to get a fair shot at defeating their opponent. Matches will be held at the Riot Games Arena in Berlin, Germany.

The champion will claim Europe’s qualification for the First Stand event, the first international showdown between major regional winners next year.

The LEC secondary or academy team will be eligible to compete in LEC Versus, but the developer has confirmed that measures will be put into place to ensure that competition integrity is preserved. Also, three out of the original five players should be in the roster to ensure their participation in the new tournament.

Following the invitational, both the Spring and Summer Splits will adopt the popular 2025 format: a best-of-three single-round robin leading into best-of-five playoffs. After heaps of criticism from the community on the confusing schedule, the developer is finally adding more matches for teams to better prepare for international events. 

As usual, the Spring Split finalists will punch their tickets to the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), while the top three teams in Summer will qualify for Worlds 2026. 

The developer also announced the return of LEC Roadtrips, expanding fan events to new cities after the overwhelming success of 2025’s Movistar KOI and Karmine Corp showcases in Spain and France. More details on the road trips will be shared on the LEC social media soon.