LoL Worlds 2026 Play-In and Swiss Stage Draw Dates Confirmed
The draws will determine the final team for the Swiss Stage and all initial matchups for the 16-team main event.
The League of Legends World Championship 2026 will hold its Play-In draw on October 10, immediately after Brazil's CBLOL Summer Finals.
The draw for the 16-team Swiss Stage main event will follow on October 18 after the Play-In final.
The Play-In draw will place four teams into a double-elimination bracket to decide the final Swiss Stage participant.
Karmine Corp, Cloud9, MVK Esports, and the second seed from Brazil's CBLOL will compete in the Play-Ins.
The CBLOL's first seed will be decided in a best-of-five final between LØS and FURIA on October 10, starting at 12:00 EDT.
The earliest the draw could be is around 03:00 pm EDT, 12:00 pm PDT, or 09:00 pm CEST.
Those teams will be randomly drawn into a double-elimination, best-of-five bracket with just one winner advancing to the Swiss Stage.
The Swiss Stage draw on October 18 will randomly match Tier 1 teams against Tier 4 and Tier 2 against Tier 3 for Round 1.
Teams from the same region cannot face each other in the first round of the Swiss Stage.
From there, teams will be matched against teams with equal records for up to five rounds, with same-region match-ups possible from Round 2 onwards.
Teams need three wins to advance to the Knockout Stage and are eliminated after three losses.
Further draws to set matches for the Swiss Stage will occur on October 23, October 24, October 26, and October 30.
After the Swiss Stage concludes, the eight remaining teams will be drawn into a single-elimination bracket on October 31.
The two teams that finish the Swiss Stage with a 3-0 record will be drawn against two of the 3-2 teams.
Then, the remaining four teams will be randomly drawn into two more matches against one another to finalise the bracket.
The tournament's 19 participating teams have been confirmed, with representatives from the LCK, LPL, LEC, LCS, LCP, and CBLOL, including reigning champions T1.
All 19 LoL Worlds 2026 teams have been confirmed, with just Brazil’s CBLOL yet to crown its Summer Split champions.
The Play Ins will decide the sixteenth and final team for the Swiss Stage, before just eight teams advance to the Knockouts.
Redington Cybersport reported in September that Invictus Gaming secured the final LPL spot for Worlds 2026.
