2026 LCP season
| 2026 LCP season | |
|---|---|
| League | LCP |
| Sport | League of Legends |
| Duration |
|
| Teams | 8 |
| Split 1 | |
| Champions | Team Secret Whales |
| Runners-up | Relove Deep Cross Gaming |
| Season MVP | Trần "Dire" Duy Đức (Team Secret Whales) |
| Split 2 | |
| Champions | Team Secret Whales |
| Runners-up | Relove Deep Cross Gaming |
| Season MVP | Lê Văn "Hizto" Hoàng Hải (Team Secret Whales) |
| Split 3 | |
| Season MVP | Lê Văn "Hizto" Hoàng Hải (Team Secret Whales) |
The 2026 LCP season is the ongoing second season of the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP), an Asia-Pacific esports league for the video game League of Legends by developer Riot Games and tournament organizer Carry International. It will consist of eight teams participating in three splits, with each split qualifying teams to three international tournaments. The season began on 16 January.
League changes
Championship points
Starting in 2026, the LCP will utilize the championship points system in determining the second team to qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational and the third team to qualify for the League of Legends World Championship.[1][2]
Playoff matches and side selection
Unlike the league's inaugural season where the first few playoff series were best-of-threes, all playoff matches in 2026 will be contested in best-of-five series. Side selection during the first game of each series will now be decided by a duos match as opposed to one-on-one solo matches from the previous season.[1]
Teams
Three team changes occurred heading into the 2026 season. Chiefs Esports Club of Australia, one of the guest teams that participated in the 2025 LCP season, was relegated after losing to Deep Cross Gaming of Taiwan from the Pacific Championship Series (PCS) in the finals of the league's promotion and relegation free-for-all bracket.[3] MGN Vikings Esports of Vietnam retained its spot in the league after beating Saigon Dino of the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) in the regional merit match.[4]
Prior to the start of the 2026 season, MGN Vikings Esports rebranded to MVK Esports and Deep Cross Gaming entered into a title sponsorship with Taiwanese care brand Relove. The team renamed to Relove Deep Cross Gaming.
On 18 November 2025, Riot Games announced that PSG Talon of Taiwan, one of the four LCP partners, was removed from the league, with Riot citing financial issues as the main reason why they were removed. This came after reports surfaced of the organization failing to pay their players and staff in a timely manner. Talon noted in a statement that these issues came from funding delays stemming from their most recent financing round.[5] On 22 December, Riot Games announced that Ground Zero Gaming of Taiwan (formerly of Australia) would replace PSG Talon in the LCP for 2026 as a guest team, with Ground Zero required to field a roster from the PCS region.[6]
Guest teams
Five guest teams will compete in the 2026 season – Deep Cross Gaming and Ground Zero Gaming from Taiwan, Team Secret Whales and MVK Esports from Vietnam, and DetonatioN FocusMe from Japan. Up to three teams with the least amount of championship points will compete in a promotion and relegation tournament against the top teams from the Tier 2 leagues (currently consisting of the PCS, VCS, LJL and a "Wild Card" spot) based on their location.
Split 1
Format
Split 1 featured all eight (8) teams competing in a single-round robin tournament where all matches were played in best-of-threes, with the top six (6) teams qualifying for the playoffs. The playoffs were a hybrid double elimination bracket with best-of-five matches, with the winner of Split 1 qualifying to represent the league as its lone representative at the 2026 First Stand Tournament.[7][2]
Regular season
Venue: LCP Arena, Taipei, Taiwan
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Secret Whales | 7 | 6 | 1 | .857 | Playoffs |
| 2 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 7 | 6 | 1 | .857 | |
| 3 | GAM Esports | 7 | 4 | 3 | .571 | |
| 4 | Ground Zero Gaming | 7 | 4 | 3 | .571 | |
| 5 | CTBC Flying Oyster | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | |
| 6 | SoftBank Hawks | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | |
| 7 | MVK Esports | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 | Eliminated |
| 8 | DetonatioN FocusMe | 7 | 0 | 7 | .000 |
Qualifying Series
As the highest-ranked team in Round 1, GAM Esports had the chance to select their opponents. Team Secret Whales also earned the right to select their opponents in Round 2 being the top seed.
Bracket
Venue: LCP Arena, Taipei, Taiwan
| Upper quarterfinals | Upper semifinals | Upper final | Final | |||||||||||||||
| 14 February | ||||||||||||||||||
| 12 February | 1 | Team Secret Whales | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| 3 | GAM Esports | 0 | 6 | SoftBank Hawks | 1 | 26 February | ||||||||||||
| 6 | SoftBank Hawks | 3 | 1 | Team Secret Whales | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 15 February | 2 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| 13 February | 2 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | Ground Zero Gaming | 3 | 4 | Ground Zero Gaming | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 1 March | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | CTBC Flying Oyster | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Team Secret Whales | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Lower semifinals | Lower final | |||||||||||||||||
| 28 February | ||||||||||||||||||
| 27 February | 2 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | SoftBank Hawks | 3 | 6 | SoftBank Hawks | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Ground Zero Gaming | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
Source: LoL Esports
Awards
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Finals MVP | Dire | Team Secret Whales |
| Team of the Split | Evi | SoftBank Hawks |
| Hizto | Team Secret Whales | |
| Dire | ||
| Eddie | ||
| ShiauC | Relove Deep Cross Gaming |
Split 2
Format
Similar to Split 1, Split 2 had the same eight (8) teams competing in a single-round robin tournament where all matches were played in best-of-threes. The top six (6) teams qualified for the playoffs, applying a hybrid double-elimination bracket as with Split 1. All playoff matches were played in best-of-fives, with the winner of Split 2 qualifying for the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational as the region's first seed. The second team to qualify for MSI 2026 from the LCP was the team with the most number of championship points at the end of Split 2, and was being the region's second seed.[7][8] Playoff seeding principles is also similar to Split 1.[2]
Regular season
Venue: LCP Arena, Taipei, Taiwan
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Secret Whales | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1.000 | Playoffs |
| 2 | GAM Esports | 7 | 6 | 1 | .857 | |
| 3 | MVK Esports | 7 | 5 | 2 | .714 | |
| 4 | SoftBank Hawks | 7 | 4 | 3 | .571 | |
| 5 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | |
| 6 | CTBC Flying Oyster | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 | |
| 7 | Ground Zero Gaming | 7 | 1 | 6 | .143 | Eliminated |
| 8 | DetonatioN FocusMe | 7 | 0 | 7 | .000 |
Qualifying Series
As the highest-ranked team in Round 1, MVK Esports had the chance to select their opponents. Team Secret Whales also earned the right to select their opponents in Round 2 being the top seed.
Bracket
Venue: LCP Arena, Taipei, Taiwan
| Upper quarterfinals | Upper semifinals | Upper final | Final | |||||||||||||||
| 29 May | ||||||||||||||||||
| 23 May | 1 | Team Secret Whales | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| 3 | MVK Esports | 3 | 3 | MVK Esports | 0 | 31 May | ||||||||||||
| 6 | CTBC Flying Oyster | 2 | 1 | Team Secret Whales | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 30 May | 5 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| 24 May | 2 | GAM Esports | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | SoftBank Hawks | 0 | 5 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 7 June | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Team Secret Whales | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Lower semifinals | Lower final | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 June | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 June | 5 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| 3 | MVK Esports | 0 | 2 | GAM Esports | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | GAM Esports | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Source: LoL Esports
Awards
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Finals MVP | Hizto | Team Secret Whales |
| Season MVP | ||
| Team of the Split | Flauren | Relove Deep Cross Gaming |
| Hizto | Team Secret Whales | |
| HongSuo | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | |
| Eddie | Team Secret Whales | |
| Bie |
Split 3
Format
The third split will follow a Swiss stage format consisting of best-of-three matches for the first two rounds and the 1–1 bracket, and best-of-five matches for qualification and elimination series. The teams that win three matches first will secure their spot in the playoffs, but seeding will be determined by a series of best-of-five seeding matches.
In between the 2–1 and 1–2 brackets, the team that lost in the 2–0 match will face the team that won in the 0–2 match. The outcome of the said series will have an impact in the final Swiss stage round and in the seeding matches for the playoffs, with the following scenarios:[8][9]
- If the loser of the 2–1 match wins against the winner of the 1–2 match, that team will advance to the playoffs while the other team will be eliminated, and only one 2–2 bracket match will be played. In seeding matches for the playoffs, the two teams that finished 3–1 will face off in a series, with the loser automatically earning the third seed. The winner of said series will go up against the team that finished with a 3–0 record, with the winner earning the first seed and the loser getting the second seed. The team that finished with a 3–2 record will automatically secure the fourth seed. In addition, the two teams that were eliminated will also contest a seeding match, with the winner earning five (5) championship points.
- If the winner of the 1–2 match wins against the loser of the 2–1 match, both teams will advance to the 2–2 bracket, which will have two matches. In seeding matches for the playoffs, the team that finished with a 3–0 record will face the team that finished with a 3–1 record, with the winner securing the first seed and the loser getting the second seed. The two teams that were eliminated in the 2–2 bracket will also contest a seeding match, with the winner earning five (5) championship points.
The playoffs will be a double-elimination format, with all matches played in best-of-fives. The finalists of Split 3 will qualify for the 2026 League of Legends World Championship, with the Season Champion earning the first seed. The team that had the most number of championship points at the end of the season will also earn their spot in the tournament as the third seed.[8]
Draw
For the first round of the Swiss stage, the top four (4) teams from the previous split will be drawn against the bottom four (4) teams. Teams with the same win-loss record will be drawn against each other in subsequent rounds, but teams are not allowed to play each other twice unless no other option is available.[8]
|
|
Swiss stage
| Advanced to playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team Secret Whales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2–0 | Advanced to playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team Secret Whales | 3 | MVK Esports | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1–0 | CTBC Flying Oyster | 0 | 2–1 | CTBC Flying Oyster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 0–0 | Team Secret Whales | 2 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 2 | Advanced to playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SoftBank Hawks | 0 | MVK Esports | 0 | MVK Esports | 3 | GAM Esports | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team Secret Whales | 2 | CTBC Flying Oyster | 2 | 1–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CTBC Flying Oyster | 2 | GAM Esports | 1 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 2 | 2–1/1–2 | 2–2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 0 | DetonatioN FocusMe | 0 | 2–1 | CTBC Flying Oyster | 3 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| DetonatioN FocusMe | 0 | 0–1 | MVK Esports | 2 | 1–2 | Ground Zero Gaming | 1 | GAM Esports | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| GAM Esports | 2 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 2 | GAM Esports | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground Zero Gaming | 0 | Ground Zero Gaming | 1 | 1–2 | Eliminated | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVK Esports | 2 | SoftBank Hawks | 1 | DetonatioN FocusMe | 0 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DetonatioN FocusMe | 2 | 0–2 | GAM Esports | 3 | Eliminated | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SoftBank Hawks | 0 | DetonatioN FocusMe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground Zero Gaming | 3 | Ground Zero Gaming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eliminated | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SoftBank Hawks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: LoL Esports
Seeding matches
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: LoL Esports
Playoffs
Venues:
- LCP Arena, Taipei, Taiwan
- Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium, Taipei, Taiwan (Lower Bracket Final and Finals)
| Upper round 1 | Upper final | Final | |||||||||||
| 20 August | |||||||||||||
| 1 | CTBC Flying Oyster | 3 | |||||||||||
| 23 August | |||||||||||||
| 3 | MVK Esports | 0 | |||||||||||
| 1 | CTBC Flying Oyster | 0 | |||||||||||
| 21 August | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Team Secret Whales | 3 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Team Secret Whales | 3 | |||||||||||
| 30 August | |||||||||||||
| 4 | GAM Esports | 1 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Team Secret Whales | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | ||||||||||||
| 29 August | |||||||||||||
| 22 August | 1 | CTBC Flying Oyster | 0 | ||||||||||
| 3 | MVK Esports | 3 | 3 | MVK Esports | 0 | ||||||||
| 4 | GAM Esports | 2 | |||||||||||
Source: LoL Esports
Awards
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Finals MVP | ||
| Season MVP | Hizto | Team Secret Whales |
| Team of the Split | ||
Championship points
Throughout the season, teams can gain championship points based on performance in their league. At the end of Splits 2 and 3, the teams with the most points that has't qualified through the playoffs will earn a spot at the following international event.
MSI 2026 qualification
| Pos | Team | S1 | S2 | Total | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Secret Whales | 37 | 49 | 86 | Automatic qualification via Stage 2 playoffs |
| 2 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 28 | 18 | 46 | Guaranteed qualification via Championship Points |
| 3 | GAM Esports | 8 | 28 | 36 | |
| 4 | SoftBank Hawks | 12 | 10 | 22 | |
| 5 | MVK Esports | 1 | 20 | 21 | |
| 6 | Ground Zero Gaming | 10 | 1 | 11 | |
| 7 | CTBC Flying Oyster | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
| 8 | DetonatioN FocusMe | 0 | 0 | 0 |
World Championship qualification
| Pos | Team | S1 | S2 | S3 | Total | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Secret Whales | 37 | 49 | 50 | 136 | Automatic qualification via Stage 3 playoffs |
| 2 | MVK Esports | 1 | 20 | 55 | 76 | Guaranteed qualification via Championship Points |
| 3 | GAM Esports | 8 | 28 | 30 | 66 | Potential qualification via Championship Points |
| 4 | Relove Deep Cross Gaming | 28 | 18 | 15 | 61 | |
| 5 | CTBC Flying Oyster | 3 | 2 | 55 | 60 | |
| 6 | SoftBank Hawks | 12 | 10 | 0 | 22 | |
| 7 | Ground Zero Gaming | 10 | 1 | 8 | 19 | Qualification for Promotion Tournament Regional Merit |
| 8 | DetonatioN FocusMe | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | Qualification for Promotion Tournament Free-for-All |
Promotion and relegation
The promotion and relegation phase is a series of matches deciding promotion and relegation for teams into the 2027 LCP season.[9]
For the LCP Wild Card Playoffs, four teams qualified through winning their respective tournaments that served as qualifiers for the event – one each from the Indonesia/Malaysia/Singapore Qualifier, Philippines Qualifier, Thailand Qualifier, and the Regional Last Chance Qualifier.[10]
Qualified teams
If a domestic team that would be in the Promotion Tournament is an academy team of a current LCP team, they cannot participate. The spot then goes to the highest-ranked non-academy team from that league.
- Promotion Tournament
| League/Tournament | Team | Path |
|---|---|---|
| League of Legends Championship Pacific | DetonatioN FocusMe | Guest teams |
| Ground Zero Gaming | ||
| League of Legends Japan League | Summer Championship winner | |
| Pacific Championship Series | Summer split winner | |
| Vietnam Championship Series | Finals Stage 2 winner | |
| FLASH Oceania | Season Champion | |
| LCP Wild Card Playoffs | Winner |
- LCP Wild Card Playoffs
Bold – indicates team that won the tournament.
| Tournament | Team |
|---|---|
| Indonesia/Malaysia/Singapore Qualifier | |
| Philippines Qualifier | |
| Thailand Qualifier | |
| Regional Last Chance Qualifier |
Format
- LCP Wild Card Playoffs
The four teams competed in a double elimination bracket with best-of-five matches, and side selection was decided in a two-on-two match. The winner of the finals qualified for the LCP Promotion Tournament.[10]
LCP Wild Card Playoffs
| Upper round 1 | Upper final | Final | |||||||||||
| 3 October | |||||||||||||
| 4 October | |||||||||||||
| 3 October | |||||||||||||
| 6 October | |||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | ||||||||||||
| 5 October | |||||||||||||
| 4 October | |||||||||||||
Promotion Tournament
- Regional Merit
| Qualification Match | |||
| Ground Zero Gaming | |||
- Free-For-All Bracket
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Qualification Match | |||||||||||
| DetonatioN FocusMe | |||||||||||||
References
- 1 2 "LCP 2026 Format Updates". LoL Esports. 5 November 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
- 1 2 3 Sayal, Rabia (5 January 2026). "LCP unveils full 2026 format ahead of Split 1". Esports Insider. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- ↑ "《英雄聯盟》DCG殺回LCP！主播「悠五」女僕裝反成場外亮點". Yahoo News Taiwan (in Chinese). 4 October 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ↑ "Kết quả vòng thăng hạng LCP 2026: MVKE bảo vệ thành công vị trí". Webthethao (in Vietnamese). 4 October 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ↑ Xu, Davide (18 November 2025). "TALON Esports removed from VCT Pacifc and LCP following financial difficulties". Esports Insider. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
- ↑ "Ground Zero Gaming will join the LCP for the 2026 season". LoL Esports. 22 December 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
- 1 2 Guimarães, Sofia (5 November 2025). "LCP 2026: Format updates, 2v2, Championship Points, and more". Esports.gg. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 "LCP 2026 Season Primer". LoL Esports. 5 January 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- 1 2 "LCP 2026 Split 3 Everything You Need To Know". LoL Esports. 13 July 2026. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Everything You Need To Know About LCP 2026 Wild Card". Riot Games. 24 June 2026. Retrieved 19 July 2026.