League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) 2026 closely follows last year’s structure and features a similar year-long pattern. With the LCK Cup, First Stand, Road to MSI, and Worlds all included in a single calendar, you’re not just watching two splits anymore — you’re following one long connected journey.

This hub outlines how LCK 2026 will operate in practice, including the format from Cup to Playoffs, and how teams qualify for First Stand, MSI, and Worlds. To cap it off, we’ll also reveal the teams participating, a rough schedule, and where you can watch the games.

What Is LCK 2026?

The LCK is the highest-tier league in South Korea, featuring 10 franchised teams playing through a year-long season for spots at international tournaments and regional glory. This year, the LCK will run a single continuous season again, rather than the old Spring and Summer split model.

The year is built around three pillars: the LCK Cup, LCK regular season, and three global events: First Stand, Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), and the World Championship (Worlds).

What’s New In LCK 2026?

The big headline is that LCK keeps the 2025 structure but refines it. The LCK Cup returns in January and now sends two Korean teams right to the upgraded First Stand in Brazil.

Fearless Draft, first introduced as an experiment, is here to stay. Riot confirmed it will remain in place for the 2026 competitive season, so LCK series are once again played with champions “locked out” after they’re used in a series.

LCK 2026 Season Format: Cup, Rounds 1–4, Play-In & Playoffs

LCK Cup 2026 opens the year as a pre-season event with all 10 franchise teams. The tournament consists of Group Stages, a Play-In, and Playoffs, all utilizing Fearless Draft. The Cup’s Playoffs are played as best-of-five series, and the top two teams qualify directly for First Stand 2026.

After Rounds 1–2, the Road to MSI side event returns. Only six teams qualify, with the top two seeds starting in the Upper Bracket of a best-of-five Knockout Stage. The two finalists will attend MSI 2026, which will be held in Daejeon, South Korea, from June 26 to July 12, 2026.

Rounds 1–2

Rounds 1–2 will operate like a classic LCK split: 10 teams will compete across a double-round-robin format, playing best-of-three series matches featuring the Fearless Draft. The top 6 teams advance to the Road to MSI event, with their placement determining the group they will be assigned to later on.

Legends/Rise Groups

For Rounds 3–4, the LCK splits into two groups: Legend (the top five) and Rise (the bottom five). Teams carry over their earlier records and play another double-round-robin within their group, again in a best-of-three fashion.

At the end, the top four LCK teams from Legend go straight to the Season Playoffs. The bottom Legend team and the top three Rise teams go into the Season Play-In, which is basically their last chance to reach the main bracket.

Season Play-In & Playoffs

LCK’s Season Play-In features four teams in a small double-elimination bracket. Two squads survive, and two are eliminated. The winners join the four auto-qualified Legend teams to form a six-team field for the Season Playoffs.

The LCK Season Playoffs feature a full double-elimination bracket with all series played as best-of-five under Fearless Draft. The top three teams at the end of this bracket qualify for Worlds 2026.

To summarize the LCK 2026 structure, you can map it like this:

LCK 2026: Path to First Stand, MSI, and Worlds

For First Stand 2026, Korea will send two teams: the LCK Cup champion and runner-up. They join two LPL finalists and regional champions from the LEC, LCS, CBLOL, and LCP for an eight-team Fearless tournament from March 16–22.

For MSI 2026, two LCK teams qualify via Road to MSI. The bracket’s top two teams secure spots in Korea, which in turn influences seeding and extra slots for Worlds and the Esports World Cup.

LCK is guaranteed three direct slots for Worlds 2026. Depending on the MSI 2026 results, though, the region can also earn a fourth Worlds berth, since the MSI winner’s region and the second-best region each receive an extra spot.

LCK 2026 Teams

The 2026 LCK season will stick with 10 partnered organizations, so you can expect familiar brands with refreshed rosters after a wild off-season.

LCK 2026 will include the following teams:

• T1
• Gen.G
• Hanwha Life Esports
• KT Rolster
• Dplus KIA
• DRX
• FEARX
• Freecs
• Nongshim RedForce
• BRION

The off-season is filled with numerous blockbuster roster moves, such as Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong leaving T1 and joining HLE alongside the now-legendary LPL jungler Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok.

LCK 2026 Schedule & How To Watch

The LCK 2026 season roughly unfolds like this:

• LCK Cup 2026: Early January to early February in Seoul.
• First Stand 2026: March 16–22 in São Paulo, Brazil.
• LCK Rounds 1–2: Early April to early June.
• Road to MSI 2026: Mid-June.
• MSI 2026: June 26–July 12 in Daejeon, Korea.
• LCK Rounds 3–4 + Play-In & Playoffs: July–September.
• Worlds 2026: October–November in the United States.

The exact match days and times will be confirmed on the official LoL Esports schedule as the season approaches, but the structure should look like this.

LCK Broadcast Platforms & Language Streams

You can follow the LCK 2026 season in a variety of languages, as always. The English broadcast is usually available on LoL Esports, the official LCK Twitch channel, and LCK Global on YouTube, which also hosts all archived VODs.

List of LCK Champions From OGN Era To Present

The LCK began in 2012 with the original OGN Champions tournaments, but has since evolved into a massive franchised league. The current title leader is T1 with 10 domestic trophies, followed by Gen.G with six.

All LCK Champions:

LCK: Background and history

The LCK hasn’t always been the fully franchised superleague we know and love. Before the LCK, champions in Korea were decided in the OGN Champions series as the top sixteen seeded Korean teams fought in a four group round robin to decide the quarter finals bracket in the second half of the season.

After the group stage, every top two team faced off in the playoffs and every series was decided in a Bo5 setting. The winner of the grand finals would accumulate circuit points that would decide their fate at the end of the year as top teams placed through points for the World Championship.

In 2016, Korea adapted some changes that fit in line with their LCS counterparts in the West, and the LCK was created. In this new league format, every team in the tournament would eventually face each other as all 10 rosters got acquainted with one another over the course of the season. Two splits in Spring and Summer decided the best Korean teams who moved on into a final tournament to decide who gets to represent Korea at Worlds.

While the format was similar to LCS, the way the games are played differ from Europe and North America. Every series played between teams is a best of three series instead of a best of one. This staggering of games enables much more substitute control amongst teams as stacked rosters like SKT, Samsung and kT all used their strength in numbers to take their opponents off balance.

Starting with the 2021 season, LCK adopted a franchising method similar to their western counterparts (LCS, LEC). 10 permanent franchise slots were assigned to esports teams fitting very specific league requirements.

LCK Tournament: Past, Present and Future

While some fans would prefer the bracket style playoffs of the LCS with only a first round bye, the 1st place pay off for the top teams in Korea is undoubtedly a position of grandeur. Beating a six team gauntlet in Playoffs and being the top team in Korea is worth way more then the prize funds.

With such a high level of importance put on being first, Korea has seen more than a few super teams start to develop as the level of talent increases each year. Many teams believed that 2015 would be the end of dominance for Korea as a vast amount of their best players looked for greener pastures and nicer paychecks in China, North America and Europe. Instead of taking a back seat, LCK once again became the frontrunner for excellency in players and coaching within the scene as a slew of new talent was developed, and Championships were raised.

2016 became the year of the dynasty in Korea as mega rivals SKT and kT Rolster seemed at the peak of their abilities.

Looming over their heads was the eventual first place roster of ROX Tigers as an unlikely pairing of above average players rocketed them into LCK fame as one of the most dominant rosters ever assembled. The dynamic trio made lots of noise throughout the season but the biggest surprise was Samsung Galaxy as they snuck their way into the World Championships that year through the gauntlet, upsetting kT Rolster en route to victory.

This rebirth of Samsung Galaxy was considered unthinkable after their past greatness as Samsung White and Blue in 2014. But a team of aspiring young talent anchored by Ambition in the jungle became the core of their success in 2016, and the continuation of their efforts was awarded the following year at the 2017 World Championship Finals as they beat their archrivals SK Telecom in a dominant 3-0 sweep.

League of Legends Championship Korea: Region of perpetual change

Following their 2017 success, the LCK entered a two year transitional period of re-organization and talent reshuffling. The former SKT T1 dynasty was challenged by new talent from DragonX and Afreeca Freecs. KT Rolster and SKT started falling off grace and Samsung traded away their spot to KSV (Gen.G).

KSV made history as the first World Championship winning roster to keep all their players for a consecutive year. The show of faith in their players hasn’t come without its troubles as KSV suffered growing pains in 2018. The star-studded roster of year’s past, lost a step since raising their trophy in 2017. Uncharacteristic mistakes from Ambition and CuVee cost the team multiple showdowns. The most notable dip in form is undoubtedly with Crown as his play with KSV has been less than optimal.

SK Telecom suffered similar setbacks as the most winningest team in LoL history entered a rebuilding phase. Even in a rebuild with a focus centered on youth development rather than big name acquisitions, SKT found their way into the playoffs as they scraped to a 9-9 record at the end of Spring Split. Their summer performance was even worse as they missed playoffs for the first time in years.

The 2018 season was the worst Worlds showing for the LCK in recent history. Neither of their teams got even close to semifinals prompting a debate on why this “debacle” came to be. Conversely, China and Europe gained huge momentum, and went into the following season even more motivated to keep Korea down.

LCK 2019: Deep restructure

Coming into 2019, the LCK had a lot to prove and SKT took up the mantle for the entire region once again. After a massive roster overhaul within many organizations, it was T1 and Faker that led the region into Worlds after winning both Splits and going into Worlds on a serious high. However, the monsters they created in Europe and China came back with a bite as Korea had to fight for every single win during the event.

Ultimately, China took their back2back trophy at Worlds, sending the LCK in a deeper re-structuring period then the year before.

LCK 2020 and return to glory

Years of slow build up finally paid off for an unexpected organization in the LCK. In a very challenging season, DAMWON Gaming took the Worlds stage by storm as they dominated their opponents and returned Korea to their World Championship glory. Domestically, the organization that only joined the LCK from the challenger series in 2019. They went on to get better with each consecutive split they played. After dominating the LCK Summer Split the team went on to drop only 3 games in their entire Worlds 2020 run and hoisted the 6th Korean trophy.

It was Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu and Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee who brought the trophy “home” with their insane Jungle/Support synergy, making plays that baffled even the most seasoned analysts.

LCK 2021: Still the best region?

After Worlds 2020, fans started questioning whether Korea was still the best region in the world. China won two of the last three World Championship, and DK was the only Korean team to fight against the LPL teams. It looked like the doubts were right, as DWG Kia dominated the Spring Split, but lost to RNG at the MSI Finals when representing the region.

When Worlds 2021 came around, however, it seemed like that was not the case. LCK qualified all four teams to the Groups Stage, and all four teams managed to reach the Knockout Stage. During the semifinals, three out of the four teams were from the LCK. Korean teams showcased their worth at the biggest tournament of the year, and many were expecting the LCK to come home with a second title in a row. Unfortunately, the Chinese team EDward Gaming took the crown and brought the trophy back to the LPL for the 3rd time in four years.

LCK 2022: T1 returns to prominence but DRX wins it all

The 2022 season started off with T1 looking the number one in the world. After an undefeated Spring Split, they entered MSI 2022 as the absolute favorites. Unfortunately, they were defeated by the LPL yet again in the finals.

While everyone expected them to continue their domination on domestic soil, Gen.G ended up winning the LCK 2022 Summer Split and heading to Worlds as the first seed. T1 was second and DK third. The fourth and last seed was taken by DRX, who barely made it to the Regional Finals. They had the toughest run out of all teams, having to go through the play-in stage.

By defying all odds, however, DRX made the miracle run. They dominated play-ins, went first in group stage and then went on to beat 2021 world champion EDG in the Knockout stages and Gen.G in the semifinals. From play-ins to the finals, DRX achieved the unthinkable. In what was likely the greatest finals in recent Worlds history, underdogs DRX went on to beat T1 in a thrilling 5-game series.

With three teams qualifying in the top four at Worlds, there is no question that Korea is back at the top and stronger than ever. Will we see them defending the trophy once again? There are good enough premises to see that happening…

LCK 2023: T1 gets their revenge

It wasn’t a good start to the 2023 season for the Korean region, as both T1 and Gen.G were eliminated during the Mid-Season Invitational before reaching the finals.

Even though both teams looked strong during Spring, the two LCK teams weren’t able to transition that level of performance in London. Paired with a few questionable meta reads, the Korean region ended up being dominated by the LPL’s JDG and BLG.

While most thought that the LPL would be favored to win Worlds in 2023, T1 decided they had to defend their legacy. After a tricky Summer Split, T1 crawled their way back to Worlds as the second seed and beat all LPL teams throughout the tournament. While all other LCK teams fell apart, they stood high, as they took down Weibo Gaming in the finals in one of the most one-sided series. Seven years after their last championship, T1 won their fourth title, cementing themselves as the most decorated org in LoL esports.

LCK 2024 – it’s Gen.G’s time? No… it’s still T1’s.

Gen.G has been one of the best teams in the Korean League ever since they entered the league, but their international results have never been that great, especially compared to the number of domestic titles won.

In the first part of the year, it looked like things were different: with the pickup of Kiin and Canyon, Gen.G put together one of the strongest lineups ever, dominating the Spring Split and winning the MSI tournament.

While many expected Gen.G to continue their dominance, things started crumbling apart: Gen.G lost to HLE in an unexpected Summer Final and it dropped the ball to T1 at the 2024 LoL World Championship semifinals.  The team only finished in the top four, and with T1’s victory over BLG, Faker’s team won back-to-back championships.

LCK 2025

The LCK 2025 season was the first real test of Riot’s new global structure, and Korea leaned into it hard.

HLE kicked off the year by winning the LCK Cup 3–2 over Gen.G and grabbing Korea’s only First Stand slot, while Gen.G answered across Rounds 1–2 with a perfect 18–0 run. By the end of Road to MSI, Gen.G took the first MSI seed, T1 claimed the second, while HLE missed out despite winning First Stand earlier.

Gen.G finished Rounds 3–5 with an impressive 29–1 overall record, then sealed the Season Finals 3–1 against HLE to become the LCK’s first single-season champion.

FAQs

When does the LCK 2026 season start?

LCK 2026 kicks off with the LCK Cup in early January. The exact start date has not been confirmed by Riot Games.

How many teams play in the LCK 2026?

There are 10 franchised teams in LCK 2026, including T1, BRION, Nongshim RedForce, KT Rolster, Hanwha Life, Gen.G, DRX, Dplus KIA, Freecs, and FEARX.

What is Fearless Draft in LCK?

Fearless Draft means that once a champion is played in a series, it can’t be picked again by either team in later games.

How do LCK teams qualify for Worlds 2026?

Three LCK teams qualify for Worlds through the Season Playoffs. The final placement in the double-elimination bracket determines which teams advance and how they’re seeded.

Where can fans watch LCK 2026?

LCK 2026 is streamed on LoLEsports, Twitch, and YouTube via the official LCK and LCK Global channels.

References

1. LoL Esports | SCHEDULE (Riot Games)
2. LCK (Twitch)
3. LCK Global (YouTube)