LoL Worlds 2026 Schedule in WIB/SGT: Dates, Format, Teams, Prize Pool
Worlds 2026, the League of Legends World Championship, begins on Friday, October 16, 2026 at 01:00 WIB (02:00 in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines) with the Play-In at Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles, and ends with the grand final on Sunday, November 15 at 02:00 WIB (03:00 SGT) at Barclays Center in New York. Nineteen teams are playing for a USD 5 million prize pool, led by T1 as champions of the last three editions. This week also brings two regional finals, the Worlds patch and the Play-In draw. All times below are converted from the official LoL Esports broadcast schedule.
Worlds 2026 Schedule in Southeast Asian Time
| Stage | Dates (WIB) | Broadcast start, WIB | SGT / MYT / PHT | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play-In | Fri to Mon, Oct 16 to 19 | 01:00 | 02:00 | Riot Games Arena, Los Angeles |
| Swiss Stage, week 1 | Sat to Tue, Oct 24 to 27 | 00:00 | 01:00 | Credit Union of Texas Event Center, Allen, Texas |
| Swiss Stage, week 2 | Thu to Sat, Oct 29 to 31 | 03:00 | 04:00 | Allen, Texas |
| Swiss Stage, final day | Sun, Nov 1 | 00:00 | 01:00 | Allen, Texas |
| Quarterfinals | Wed to Sat, Nov 4 to 7 | 05:00 | 06:00 | Allen, Texas |
| Semifinals | Sun and Mon, Nov 8 and 9 | 05:00 | 06:00 | Allen, Texas |
| Grand final | Sun, Nov 15 | 02:00 | 03:00 | Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York |
Riot’s official dates use local US time, for example Play-In on October 15 to 18 and the final on November 14, as listed in the MSI and Worlds 2026 announcement. With a 12 to 14 hour gap to WIB, every match day lands in the early hours of the next day in Southeast Asia. The times above are broadcast start times, not guaranteed first-match times.
This Week Before Worlds 2026
| Time (WIB) | What happens |
|---|---|
| Mon, Oct 5, 03:00 | LCS final: Team Liquid vs LYON, deciding North America’s first and second seeds |
| Oct 7 (Pacific Time) | Patch 26.20 goes live, the patch Worlds 2026 is played on |
| Fri, Oct 9, 08:00 | Music video for the Worlds 2026 anthem “Know My Name” premieres on the League of Legends YouTube channel |
| Sat, Oct 10, 23:00 | CBLOL final: LOS vs FURIA, followed by the Play-In draw |
All 19 Teams at Worlds 2026
| League | Teams (seed) | Starts in |
|---|---|---|
| LCK (Korea) | Gen.G (1), Hanwha Life Esports (2), T1 (3), Dplus (4) | Swiss Stage |
| LPL (China) | Anyone’s Legend (1), Bilibili Gaming (2), Top Esports (3), Invictus Gaming (4) | Swiss Stage |
| LEC (EMEA) | G2 Esports (1), Movistar KOI (2) | Swiss Stage |
| LEC | Karmine Corp (3) | Play-In |
| LCS (North America) | Team Liquid and LYON (1 and 2, set by the Oct 5 final) | Swiss Stage |
| LCS | Cloud9 (3) | Play-In |
| LCP (Asia Pacific) | Secret Whales, Vietnam (1); CTBC Flying Oyster, Taiwan (2) | Swiss Stage |
| LCP | MVK Esports, Vietnam (3) | Play-In |
| CBLOL (Brazil) | LOS and FURIA (1 and 2, set by the Oct 10 final) | Champion to Swiss Stage, runner-up to Play-In |
The team list matches the official LoL Esports tournament page; seeds come from Liquipedia. The LCK and LPL each get a fourth slot from MSI 2026: one for the MSI champion (Hanwha Life Esports) and one for the second-best region at MSI (LPL).
Worlds 2026 Format: Play-In, Swiss and Knockout
According to the official Worlds 2026 ruleset:
- Play-In: four teams (Karmine Corp, Cloud9, MVK Esports and the CBLOL runner-up) play a double-elimination bracket, all best of 5. Only the winner moves on to the Swiss Stage.
- Swiss Stage: 16 teams, five rounds. Three wins and you advance, three losses and you are out. Regular matches are best of 1, while matches that decide advancement or elimination are best of 3.
- Knockout Stage: eight teams, single elimination, all best of 5. Teams that went 3-0 are drawn against 3-2 teams, and those two matches are placed on opposite sides of the bracket.
Swiss Round 1 Draw Pools
| Pool | Teams |
|---|---|
| 1 | Gen.G, Anyone’s Legend, LCS 1, G2 Esports |
| 2 | Secret Whales, CBLOL 1, Hanwha Life Esports, Bilibili Gaming |
| 3 | LCS 2, Movistar KOI, T1, Top Esports |
| 4 | CTBC Flying Oyster, Invictus Gaming, Dplus, Play-In winner |
Pool 1 faces Pool 4 and Pool 2 faces Pool 3, with no same-league matches in round one. That means T1’s first opponent will be Secret Whales, Bilibili Gaming or the CBLOL champion. The round 1 draw takes place right after the last Play-In match on October 18 local time, which is Monday, October 19 in Southeast Asia.
T1 and Faker Chase a Fourth Straight Title
T1 qualified as the LCK’s third seed with Doran, Oner, Faker, Peyz and Keria. Gumayusi, a three-time world champion, now plays for Hanwha Life Esports. Two weeks before the Play-In, Faker also helped South Korea win League of Legends gold at the Asian Games 2026 with a 3-0 final win over Chinese Taipei on October 2, covered in our Asian Games 2026 esports medal table.
Riot built the official Worlds 2026 anthem, “Know My Name”, around Faker’s journey. It is performed by the virtual group True Damage with artists including SOYEON of i-dle, it is the 13th Worlds anthem, and its music video celebrates T1’s three straight world titles.
Southeast Asia’s Teams: Two From Vietnam
There is no Indonesian, Malaysian, Filipino or Singaporean team at Worlds 2026. Southeast Asia is represented by two Vietnamese teams from the LCP:
- Secret Whales won LCP Split 3 in Taipei, with Hizto named finals MVP, and go straight to the Swiss Stage from Pool 2.
- MVK Esports qualified as the LCP’s third seed through championship points and start in the Play-In. Liquipedia lists SofM on their coaching staff.
Worlds 2026 Prize Pool
| Placement | Prize |
|---|---|
| Champion | USD 1,000,000 |
| Runner-up | USD 800,000 |
| 3rd and 4th | USD 400,000 each |
| 5th to 8th | USD 300,000 each |
| 9th to 19th | USD 175,000 down to USD 30,000 |
The total is USD 5 million, according to the official ruleset.
How to Watch Worlds 2026
The official English broadcast is on lolesports.com, the LoL Esports YouTube channel and Twitch (riotgames). Most matches fall in the early hours in Southeast Asia, so set reminders.
With patch 26.20 arriving this week, if you want skins or other in-client content during Worlds season, you can top up League of Legends PC RP on ItemGame with just your Riot ID, or use the Malaysia RP page. Steps and SEA server rules are in our guide to buying LoL RP on PC.
FAQ
When does Worlds 2026 start? The Play-In starts on Friday, October 16, 2026 at 01:00 WIB (02:00 SGT), which is October 15 in Los Angeles.
Where and when is the Worlds 2026 final? At Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Sunday, November 15, 2026 at 02:00 WIB (03:00 SGT).
Is T1 at Worlds 2026? Yes. T1 qualified as the LCK’s third seed and start directly in the Swiss Stage.
Are there Southeast Asian teams at Worlds 2026? Yes, two from Vietnam: Secret Whales and MVK Esports.
