Get Premium
Riot Games has confirmed the daily start times, seeded draw pools and a three-day Fan Fest for Worlds 2026, in its official tournament primer.
The tournament opens on October 15 in Los Angeles. It ends on November 14 with the Grand Final at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The CBLOL Split 2 final on October 10 will settle all the seedings.
This year's theme is "This Is Our Moment". For the format, prize pool and ruleset, read our complete Worlds 2026 guide.
Play-In Stage: four teams, one ticket to Texas
Karmine Corp, Cloud9, MVK Esports and the CBLOL second seed (LOS or FURIA) open the tournament at Riot Games Arena from October 15 to 18. They play a double-elimination bracket in BO5 (best-of-five). Only the winners reach the Swiss Stage.
The matchups will be fully random. Riot will hold the draw after the CBLOL final on October 10.Every match day starts at 11 AM PDT (8 PM CEST).
Swiss Stage: the pools now have names
Sixteen teams play the Swiss Stage in Allen, Texas, from October 23 to 31. Three wins send a team to the Knockout Stage. Three losses send them home.
The round one draw takes place on October 18, right after the Play-In Stage. Pool 1 teams face Pool 4 teams. Pool 2 teams face Pool 3 teams. Teams from the same region cannot meet in round one.
Pool 1
Gen.G, Anyone's Legend, Team Liquid Alienware, G2 Esports
Pool 2
CBLOL first seed, Team Secret Whales, Hanwha Life Esports, Bilibili Gaming
Pool 3
LYON, Movistar KOI, T1, TOP Esports
Pool 4
CTBC Flying Oyster, Invictus Gaming, Dplus Kia, Play-In winners
From round two, teams are drawn against opponents with the same record. Rematches are not allowed.
Start times change during the stage. Europe also switches to winter time on October 25, one week before the United States.
Dates
October 23 and 24
12 PM CDT
7 PM CEST
October 25 and 26
12 PM CDT
6 PM CET
October 28 to 30
3 PM CDT
9 PM CET
October 31
12 PM CDT
6 PM CET
Knockout Stage: Allen, then Brooklyn
The quarterfinals run from November 3 to 6. The semifinals follow on November 7 and 8. All six series start at 4 PM CST (11 PM CET) in Allen.
The Grand Final is set for Saturday, November 14, at 2 PM EST (8 PM CET).
The quarterfinal draw takes place on October 31. The two teams that finish Swiss at 3-0 are each drawn against a team that finished 3-2. The four remaining teams are then drawn against each other.
A three-day Fan Fest in Manhattan
Riot will host the Worlds Fan Fest at Pier 36, in Lower Manhattan, from November 12 to 14.
The event features interactive experiences from Riot and its partners. The main stage will host developer panels and special guests in the build-up to the final.
- Thursday, November 12: 3 PM to 9 PM EST
- Friday, November 13: 3 PM to 9 PM EST
- Saturday, November 14: 11 AM to 8 PM EST
Pick'em and a new Yasuo skin
Pick'em and Crystal Ball return with the same rules and new rewards. Predictions open on October 11 at 1 AM CEST. Play-In picks lock before the first match on October 15.
In game, the headline skin is True Damage Know My Name Yasuo. Riot is also releasing Worlds Winners elite chromas for the 2013 SKT T1 K championship skins. Part of the revenue from Worlds content will be shared with tier-one LoL Esports teams.
After the final, the skins used by the winning team will be sold individually at a 33% discount. Prestige, ultimate, mythic, exalted and transcendent skins are excluded.
The Worlds 2026 merchandise collection will be revealed on October 7.
