The Worlds Final for League of Legends over. T1 secured their third straight Worlds title. In the lead-up, they held a press conference. Part of the announcements for the press conference regarded the international events for 2026. All three will be returning for 2026, and we have the locations for all three. Fearless Draft will remain for all events throughout the year.
League of Legends: First Stand in Brazil
The first international event of the year will be in São Paulo, Brazil. The event will see the participating teams increase to eight from five. All regions, including CBLOL, receive one slot, while the LCK and LPL get an extra one. The exact format is still to be determined. First Stand starts March 16th and ends March 22nd. All matches at First Stand will be Best-of-Five.
League of Legends: MSI in Korea
The Mid-Season Invitational will be in Daejeon, South Korea. Eleven teams will automatically qualify for the Bracket Stage. Four teams will compete in the Play-In Bracket to earn the final seed in the Playoffs. The dates are still to be determined. The one consideration is what will happen with the CBLOL seed. They are guaranteed to have a spot at the event, but whether they will feature in the Bracket Stage or Play-In Stage is not confirmed.
League of Legends: Worlds in the United States
The final international event of the year, Worlds, will take place in the United States. The majority of the event will be in Allen, Texas. The Grand Final will take place in New York City. Similar to MSI, no format changes were announced. The dates for Worlds are still to be determined. Eighteen teams will participate in the United States. The extra team is likely there to accommodate the slots for CBLOL and LCS.
Fearless Draft Remains
Fearless Draft has brought new life to the professional League of Legends. While the number of unique champions per event has not varied greatly, the number of games per champion has changed. Gone are the days when some champions dominate the total games played. Some fans are not convinced that Fearless Draft is the way to go for the future. 2026 should be the best test for it, as teams will have had a year to refine draft strategies for the format.
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