LEC 2026 Format Changes Reshape League of Legends Championship

Riot Games Inc. is overhauling its European League of Legends championship with the most significant LEC 2026 format changes since the competition's inception, seeking to streamline a system that executives acknowledge failed to resonate with fans and teams.

The League of Legends EMEA Championship, known as the LEC, will debut a new structure in 2026 that replaces the traditional winter season with an invitational tournament and establishes a uniform format for its spring and summer competitions. The LEC 2026 format update follows mounting criticism of the league's fragmented 2025 season, which featured three different competitive structures across three splits.

The centerpiece of the LEC 2026 shake-up is LEC Versus, a 12-team invitational tournament set to launch the 2026 season in January at Riot's Berlin arena. The competition will feature the league's 10 franchise partners (including prominent organizations G2 Esports, Fnatic and Karmine Corp) alongside two teams from Europe's regional leagues, marking a departure from the closed ecosystem that has defined the LEC since its franchising in 2019.

One invitation will go to the 2025 EMEA Masters Summer champion, while Los Rotones earned the second slot based on performance across the 2025 season. The winner secures qualification for the First Stand Tournament in Brazil, an international competition.

LEC 2026 New Format Standardizes Spring and Summer Splits

Riot announced the changes, emphasizing the selection of regional teams "through competitive excellence within the ERL ecosystem." The move aims to broaden participation while addressing concerns about stagnation in the franchise model.

The spring and summer splits will adopt identical formats for the first time in years under the LEC 2026 competitive format: a single round-robin among the 10 franchise teams using best-of-three matches, followed by double-elimination playoffs with best-of-five series. Spring finalists qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational, while summer's top three teams advance to the World Championship.

The restructuring reflects broader tensions in franchised esports leagues, which have grappled with balancing stability for investors against competitive freshness. Some franchise organizations have privately questioned why regional teams gain access to international qualification opportunities without comparable financial commitments, though others have praised the competitive injection.

The LEC has undergone frequent structural changes in recent years. In 2024, the league modified its championship-points system and merged group and playoff phases. The constant evolution underscores the challenge esports leagues face in establishing sustainable competitive formats that satisfy stakeholders while maintaining viewer interest.

Riot has not disclosed the prize pool or detailed schedule for LEC Versus.